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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27216055">Crash Course In Parenthood</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall'>Theonewhosawitall</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hawaii Five-0 (2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Babysitting, Beaches, Canon-Typical Violence, Comfort, Dad Steve McGarrett, Dad lessons, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Found Family, Fun, Grocery Shopping, Knife Throwing, Long, M/M, McGarrett Family, Minor Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams, Nightmares, Parental Steve McGarrett, Parenthood, Single Parents, Swimming Pools, Toddlers, crabs, long distance, sandcastle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:40:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>61,927</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27216055</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Danny is required to go back to New Jersey at the last minute and Rachel is in Vegas with Stan, he has no choice but to leave the kids with Steve for the week.</p>
<p>Steve knows this will be a breeze. Afterall, he was a Navy SEAL. </p>
<p>How hard can parenting be?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Charles "Charlie" Williams Edwards &amp; Grace Williams, Steve McGarrett &amp; Charles "Charlie" Williams Edwards, Steve McGarrett &amp; Grace Williams, Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>206</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Danno Goes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Danny's jaw was slack as he stared, wide eyed around the room. Even when he was living here it hadn't looked this untidy. Well, there was that valentine's weekend when Steve went off with Catherine and Danny had to look after Grace's dog, things got a little out of hand then, but even that hadn't lead to <em>this!</em></p>
<p>Steve scratched the back of his neck and pursed his lips as he looked around. Now he was seeing it through Danny's eyes he could see the damage for what it was. Danny blinked at him, half in awe, and half shocked.</p>
<p>"What do you have to say for yourself?!" He demanded.</p>
<p>Steve let out a long, tired exhale and shook his head.</p>
<p>"To be honest with you Danno... I think I did okay."</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>"Watch your six!"</p>
<p>"Oh you sneaky-"</p>
<p>"A-a-and you’re dead. Tough luck commander."</p>
<p>"Let's go again."</p>
<p>"Sir, we've done this fifteen times-"</p>
<p>"And we'll do it again until we get past the fortifications solider!"</p>
<p>"Sir yes sir!"</p>
<p>Danny scoffed and shook his head. He felt like an old man as he sat on his seat with his legs over the arm, reading his newspaper and sipping his coffee. In fact he couldn't decide if he felt old, or if he just felt like the only grown up in the room. That happens a lot when your six foot something navy SEAL daredevil partner sits cross legged on the floor, in his underwear with a headset on playing video games with another SEAL beside him. At least Junior had gotten dressed this morning. Although between the two of them and Catherine it didn't seem like Navy officers knew colours existed beyond black, white and khaki. Sometimes though, when they were feeling adventurous, they might wear <em>navy!</em></p>
<p>"Didn't you two get enough war while in the teams?" Danny complained. </p>
<p>"This keeps up the skills sir, it's mental agility training," Junior explained. </p>
<p>"Mental agility- I'm torn between pointing out that Captain Kabloom over there doesn’t have enough brain cells to have mental agility in any form, and pointing out that active field work in Five-O is pretty good training for your mental agility," Danny declared. </p>
<p>"Way to cram them both in Danny, it's a wonder no one wants to play with you," Steve said.</p>
<p>His eyes never left the screen in front of him as he twisted the controller in his hand to held him shoot around a corner. </p>
<p>"Can I remind you who's console that is that you’re playing on?" Danny challenged.</p>
<p>"Rachel's," Steve stated. </p>
<p>"No not- no not Rachel's!" Danny cried, affronted, "I gave her the money she needed get this stupid machine for Grace, this stupid thing I didn't want her to have but she kept insisting she needed, so if anything its mine too! Maybe half mine. Half mine, <em>half</em> Rachel's!"</p>
<p>"Like Grace herself," Steve smirked.</p>
<p>Junior forced a laugh back but his attention was on the game in front of him. He had to duck to avoid a harpoon, and had done so instinctively in time with his character. </p>
<p>"Is that supposed to be a joke?" Danny demanded, drily. He didn’t give them time to respond before continuing, "its not a joke, I'll tell you why not- jokes are funny."</p>
<p>"Dammit!"</p>
<p>Steve threw the controller into his lap in frustration as once again the two of them died before they could breach the fort. Junior twisted to face Danny.</p>
<p>"Anyway, it's not yours anymore sir. I paid my share, this is all mine now," he grinned.</p>
<p>"He makes a good point," Steve agreed.</p>
<p>"You can have it! I don't want strangers on the other side of the world talking to my little girl in her bedroom on a private headset," Danny said, firmly.</p>
<p>"If you're so hell bent on Grace not having it, why did you give Rachel the money for it in the first place?" Steve asked.</p>
<p>"Because I thought she would get Grace nice games, y’know? Peaceful games, like, like, like <em>Dance off</em> or vet simulation or whatever. Maybe she'd use it to learn to fly a helicopter- If Kamekona can, Grace can-" Danny rambled.</p>
<p>"I could teach her-" Steve began.</p>
<p>"Do not teach my daughter to fly a helicopter!"</p>
<p>"You just said-"</p>
<p>"I said she <em>could</em> learn, on a simulator! I've seen you teach her to dive- hell I saw you teach Kamekona to fly, it's not safe! Its not!"</p>
<p>"Go back to your newspaper you grumpy old git, and shut up!"</p>
<p>Junior chuckled to himself as Steve adjusted the microphone back down to position. They turned back to restart the game as Danny shook his head.</p>
<p>"You two are ridiculous, grown soldiers playing shooting games like children, it's stupid," he said.</p>
<p>"It's fun," Steve argued.</p>
<p>"It's fun? Shooting people in the head, that's fun for you?" Danny scoffed. </p>
<p>"It's more fun to shoot them on this than it is in real life. Safer too," Junior said. </p>
<p>"Fire in the hole!" </p>
<p>There was a loud booming as the screen filled with orange and yellow, a virtual mushroom cloud exploded around their avatars. Steve, as he would have in real life, had thrown a grenade. Danny shook his head again.  </p>
<p>"Nothing's safe when he's involved."</p>
<p>Soundly ignored by the two fully grown and fully trained SEALs, Danny turned back to his newspaper. He turned to the next page, and spotted a familiar face that made his hair stand on end. Danny sat upright in the chair as he read the article intensely. </p>
<p>"No... no, no.... no, no, no, they cant do this!"</p>
<p>"What now, they changing your garbage route from Tuesdays to Thursdays or something?" Steve teased.</p>
<p>Danny's hand crumbled the paper as he leapt to his feet. Steve frowned. He paused the game, much to Junior's annoyance, and turned to watch Danny. Danny was pacing back and forth as he made a call.</p>
<p>"This is Detective Daniel Williams Badge Number - well it used to be A686D when I worked in Jersey, I need to talk to Sargent Maxwell... well pull him out of the meeting this is urgent! Yes it is! No, no, uh- just tell him who's calling, believe me he'll know what it's about... fine, yeah, fine, whatever, I'll hold."</p>
<p>"You okay man?" Steve asked. </p>
<p>"Have you seen this crap? I put this guy away for <em>life.</em> Life means life, it means never walking the streets again, it does not mean he can argue the courts that he's- hello?! Hello, Max? Yeah, hey, it's Danny, Max, what the hell is going on?!"</p>
<p>Junior nudged Steve. He had smoothed out the paper to read the article for himself. Steve suddenly understood why Danny was so upset. A prisoner had been declared dead of cardiac arrest while in the infirmary and had been brought back to life five minutes later. Now he was petitioning the court to argue he had completed his life sentence. </p>
<p>"Tell that to Gabriella Winston. Tell that to her mother. To the baby boy who had to grow up without a mother because that monster- I'm not being over reactive, what's the matter with you?! Yeah I'll speak at the trial, you set up a video link- ... in person? But I... I can't, I live in Hawaii now, I-... a <em>week?!</em> I have kids, their mom- <em>no.</em> No. No, I'll be there. I'll be there. That man will not breath free air again as long as I am. I will see you Tuesday morning. Aloha."</p>
<p>Steve watched the way Danny hung up. He looked like he wanted to throw his phone through the window and smash it completely. It was that or punch whoever this Max guy was in the face.  </p>
<p>"You're going back to Jersey huh?" Steve said.</p>
<p>"I cannot let that monster back on the street Steve, I cant. But Rachel's in Vegas. Grace has school and Charlie's way too young for this flight, besides I'll be far too busy to look after him. Unless I got Ma to- no, no he couldn’t handle the flight," Danny muttered.</p>
<p>He was pacing again. Steve hated it when Danny flew back to New Jersey for ages. He was going more and more just recently, and part of Steve was always slightly worried he wouldn't come back. But watching the way Danny's face thundered at the idea of injustice, Steve knew he had to go. If he didn't he'd be jittery and unfocused for weeks. He knew the feeling. So did Junior. </p>
<p>"What are you gonna do?" Junior asked. </p>
<p>"I could watch them," Steve offered. </p>
<p>"I need to make some calls," Danny muttered. </p>
<p>He stormed off towards the lalani to think and Steve's heart sunk. He hated it when Danny got worked up like that. He was always working himself up. It couldn’t be good for his blood pressure. </p>
<p>"I guess I can't watch them," Steve muttered. </p>
<p>"Want to watch me beat your game?" Junior offered.</p>
<p>Steve turned back on his knees to grin at him. "That a challenge? Turn it back on my friend, I'll show you a challenge!"</p>
<p>Neither paid much attention to how much time had passed. As soon as they had managed to break through the barricade and into the enemy bunker they had become focused entirely on the game. They only remembered Danny was there when he Danny growled under his breath as he stormed back into the room.  </p>
<p>"Jerry's no help, his sisters visiting his mom so he's in Maui!" He complained. </p>
<p>To hear the venom in his tone you could have reasonably believed it was a personal affront to Danny. As if either of them had known he would need to leave the island today. </p>
<p>"When's he coming back?" Junior asked.</p>
<p>"Not in time for me to get the kids settled and fly home in time!" Danny huffed </p>
<p>"Adam? He loves Charlie, and he and Kono need the practice for when theirs comes along," Steve said. </p>
<p>Junior frowned, "Kono isn’t-"</p>
<p>"Not yet, but it can't be long right?" Steve shrugged.</p>
<p>"Not very considering he’s with her right now!" Danny spat.</p>
<p>Steve frowned sheepishly as he remembered signing the papers to release him. "Oh right."</p>
<p>"Steve, how could you sign off on so many people being away at once?" Danny groaned.</p>
<p>"Well I figured we had enough for a skeleton crew, especially since we had our best detective on call," Steve said.</p>
<p>"I’m not on call. I’m not. I’m looking after my kids!" Danny argued.</p>
<p>Junior scoffed under his breath. Both of them had known that Steve was talking about him, but he didn’t even try to pretend otherwise. It was arrogance. Deserved arrogance, but still.</p>
<p>"Look, if Kamekona can't do it and Rachel really wont be back in time, I'm not going anywhere," Steve said.</p>
<p>"Don't be ridiculous-" Danny began.</p>
<p>"What’s ridiculous? What? I love Grace, she's amazing, I've known her for years, I've known Charlie his whole life, they've stayed here before!" Steve argued.</p>
<p>"With me! I was here with them! Besides, Junior's gonna be here-" Danny began. </p>
<p>"Actually I'm supposed to be meeting some old navy buddies. We were gonna play- um..." Junior trailed off. </p>
<p>Steve had hit pause on the game, but it was becoming apparent how much time they had spent playing it. His hand were beginning to ache and he had three missed calls. </p>
<p>"Take the game and go, you’re of no use to me," Danny said.</p>
<p>Steve held out a hand to stop him, "But you’re of use to me, remember you’re on call, get some sleep. I don’t want you drained at work because you were playing video games all night."</p>
<p>Junior smiled sheepishly. "Yes sir."</p>
<p>He gathered up the game in his arms, grabbed his phone and headed for the door.</p>
<p>"And remember to eat!" Steve called.</p>
<p>"Yes sir!" Junior called back.</p>
<p>For a moment Steve sounded like a father, which did give Danny some hope. But then the door shut and he groaned.</p>
<p>"Speaking of which, I haven’t eaten all day!" </p>
<p>Danny rolled his eyes. He followed Steve into the kitchen, ready to continue their arguing. Steve wrinkled his nose at the contents of his cupboard. Or lack thereof. </p>
<p>"I need to go shopping, these cupboards are bare."</p>
<p>"See, you can barely look after yourself, how could you look after my kids?" Danny huffed.</p>
<p>"Because I'm not an idiot alright? I've looked after Grace before, all I have to do is pick her up from school, feed her, and keep her entertained until she goes to bed, right?" Steve said.</p>
<p>Danny folded his arms, "What about homework?"</p>
<p>"What about homework? If she has homework she can't do I'll help her! I don’t wanna brag but I actually graduated high school, I think I can help a kid do her homework," Steve scoffed. </p>
<p>"What about Charlie? He’s only booked into day-care for a few hours. You'll have to keep him entertained!" Danny insisted. </p>
<p>Charlie was only three. He had barley mastered potty training, but he was an expert at vanishing acts. Danny had a horrible image of Steve getting distracted, Charlie vanishing, and Steve driving home having forgotten he had Charlie in the store. </p>
<p>"Charlie might be a handful, but I've dealt with kids before Danny. I looked after Joanie-" Steve began.</p>
<p>"You palmed her off to me and Chin at every opportunity!" Danny cried.</p>
<p>"I can handle it Daniel!" Steve insisted, defensively. </p>
<p>He was honestly offended that Danny didn’t think he could handle kids. He had taken down terror groups stealing children from their homes to become soldiers, he was certain he could handle two Jersey kids in Hawaii.</p>
<p>"Besides, what are your other options? Huh? You gonna hire a teenager to watch your kids for a week? Pay them extortionate amounts to do so? I don't think so!" Steve scoffed.</p>
<p>Danny softened as his lip curled at the idea. "Where would they even sleep?"</p>
<p>"Grace can sleep in Mary's old room and Charlie can sleep in my parents. Its only Junior in there at the moment so it's all neat and tidy for him. I have the space Danno," Steve said.</p>
<p>He did have the space. He had figured that out the moment that Danny discovered Charlie was his. He had space for all three of them to move in as long as Danny didn’t mind sharing a bed. </p>
<p>Not that he actually thought Danny would ever move in full time.</p>
<p>Not while Junior was staying anyway.</p>
<p>"What would you feed them?" Danny asked.</p>
<p>Steve rolled his eyes. "Uh, well, Charlie's three and he hasn't had a proper allergy test yet, so I'm gonna say whole peanuts and shellfish for him, and for Grace well. We both know how much she likes candyfloss. Pure sugar. Full of nutrients!"</p>
<p>Danny stared at him blankly. "Are you joking? I genuinely don’t know if you’re joking."</p>
<p>The last time he had taken his eyes off of Steve and Grace for more then ten seconds was at the funfair. They had goaded a seller into making them the a planet. It was  a very pretty planet. All pink based with swathes of blue running through it. It was also the size of Steve's head. He and Grace were hyped up for three hours until Grace vomited blue streaks of sugar into the grass and set off a chain reaction that had Steve, Tani and Eric throwing up too.</p>
<p>All in all not their best moment.</p>
<p>"Danny, I will cook them food. I've been alive for many years now, I have learned how to put together a healthy meal," Steve said, seriously. </p>
<p>"That's great. Really, that's great, except y'know who doesn't much like healthy meals?" Danny asked, drily, <em>"Kids."</em></p>
<p>"Then we'll order in from Kamekona's," Steve shrugged. </p>
<p>"No, no way, you can't order a take out every night, what’s the matter with you?!" Danny cried.</p>
<p>Steve had had enough and threw his hands into the air. "Y’know what, whatever! Fine! I won't look after your kids, forget I even offered!"</p>
<p>"Fine! I will!"</p>
<p>"Fine!"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Fine!"</em>
</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Danny knelt down to Charlie's level and zipped up his jacket as he explained, "I'll be home soon, but in the meantime I need you to be real good for Uncle Steve okay? Best behaviour, all week. When I get back, I'll bring you a present."</p>
<p>Danny leaned in to kiss his cheek as Charlie nodded. "Okay Danno."</p>
<p>He stood up again, dusted off his knees, and set his hands on his hips. "Gracie, what are the rules for inside?"</p>
<p>"No answering the door to strangers, no talking to strangers, no going outside without someone knowing where I am, especially not to the beach or anywhere near water, no fighting with my brother <br/>and no more than three cookies a day," Grace listed the ruled from memory. </p>
<p>"Three?" Steve repeated. </p>
<p>"She haggled her way up," Danny said.</p>
<p>"Atta girl," Steve nudged her shoulder proudly. </p>
<p>She beamed up at him as he did. Danny tried not to let that fill him with dread. He wasn’t allowed to leave Steve and Kono unsupervised anymore (there was a fight in a bar and there was an arrest that wasn’t covered by immunity and means and it was a whole thing) and they were adults. They should know better. <em>Grace</em> was a child. She could easily be lead astray. If anyone was going to be the one to lead her there, it was Steve.</p>
<p>"And what are the rules for outside?" Danny asked seriously. </p>
<p>"Always keep an eye on Charlie, never disappear for view unless you absolutely have to, never speak to strangers, always have your phone on and phone you the moment I need you, or hit the emergency button on my phone if it's big," Grace listed.</p>
<p>"Brilliant, that's brilliant, you’re brilliant," Danny declared. He rested a thumb on her chin as he tilted her head forward to kiss her forehead. "Be safe for me, okay? I love you."</p>
<p>"I love you too Danno," Grace said.</p>
<p>"I love you too Charlie," Danny ruffled his hair.</p>
<p>"Love yoooou Danno," Charlie cooed.</p>
<p>Danny smiled at the pair of them as warmly as he could. Standing on the steps of Steve's lalani as Steve leaned on the pillar behind them and their bags waited by the front door, Danny couldn't help but feel like he was abandoning them. Like that moment in the old war movies where the parents set their kids on the train to be evacuated and they never knew if they would see each other again. </p>
<p>Only this time it was him leaving.</p>
<p>Danny edged past them to Steve's level. Part of Steve hoped he was in for a goodbye kiss too, but no such luck.</p>
<p>"Steve?" Danny said, seriously. </p>
<p>"Yeah bud?" Steve asked. </p>
<p>"If anything happens, anything at all, I need you to phone me, okay?" Danny was quiet but plainly serious.</p>
<p>"Nothing's going to-" Steve began.</p>
<p>"No, Steve, really. I'm entrusting you with the most important things in my life. They're the reason <em>I</em> am alive. I need you to promise me you'll keep them safe," Danny stated.</p>
<p>There was such firmness in his tone, and his eyes were genuinely desperate to hear him promise, that Steve couldn't refuse. </p>
<p>"Of course I will. I promise," he said.</p>
<p>Danny breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced down at his kids. As much as he loved them,  he was certain Steve had no idea what he was in for.</p>
<p>"Good luck," he warned.</p>
<p>Steve scoffed at him, "Get out of here. Go on, don't miss your flight!"</p>
<p>Danny nodded. He grabbed his bag as he hurried down the steps and waved as he went.</p>
<p>"Bye kids!" He called.</p>
<p>"Bye!" They called.</p>
<p>"I love you, travel safe!" Steve called.</p>
<p>"Love you too," Danny called back.</p>
<p>Once he was just on the edge of hearing range, Steve grinned. Loudly he declared, "Alright! Who wants to know how to use a grenade?!"</p>
<p>Danny froze where he stood. He knew Steve was joking, but he couldn't help gulping anyway. As he watched the house pass out of the taxi window only one thought came to mind.</p>
<p>This was not going to end well.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Day 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dinner was sparse, but Grace did her best to be polite about it. Rehydrated white rice, grilled chicken and peas wasn't exactly what she had been hoping for, but at least it was edible. Steve had dragged a table out from somewhere but a layer of dust around the edges of the carvings on it suggested it wasn’t often used. She imagined Danny had made a point that dinner in front of the TV was a no-no. He hadn't. Steve just thought that sitting together for dinner might make things slightly easier.</p><p>They had had dinners together before, often in fact, and yet right now, this felt stunted. Awkward. Grace wasn't entirely sure what to say and neither was Steve. Maybe Danny had been right and having him there made things flow easier. </p><p>"Gracie, I've put your stuff in the room you stayed in last time, is that okay?" He asked. </p><p>"Sure," she nodded.</p><p>"You finished all your homework?"  He asked.</p><p>"Yep," she nodded.</p><p>"Good. Good..."</p><p>Steve trailed off again. The conversation was worse. Silence was bad enough but now they had started trying to talk it felt like they needed to continue trying. To make an effort to appear more comfortable than they felt. Fortunately for them both, Charlie had no concept of awkwardness. He slammed his cutlery down and stood up on his chair.</p><p>"Done!" He cried.</p><p>Steve grinned at him, but his smile sank a little when he saw how little Charlie had eaten. "You are?"</p><p>"Can I have pudding now?" Charlie asked eagerly. </p><p>"You haven't eaten your peas," Steve said.</p><p>"Don’t like peas," Charlie shrugged. </p><p>"You don't? But if you don’t eat your peas, you won't grow up to be big and tall!" Steve said.</p><p>"Don't wanna be tall," Charlie said.</p><p>Steve's face fell. "You don’t? Why don't you wanna be tall?"</p><p>"Auntie Kono says small is strong!" Charlie said.</p><p>Steve frowned. "Auntie Kono's tall."</p><p>"Auntie Kono was talking about acorns. They start small and grow strong," Grace interrupted.</p><p>Charlie frowned. "Oh. What's an acorn again?"</p><p>"It's like a seed. When you plant it, it grows into a big old oak tree!" Steve smiled.</p><p>Charlie tilted his head, "And they're strong?"</p><p>"Really strong!" Steve nodded.</p><p>He was pleased to finally be able to speak freely with some confidence in the subject. Or to talk at all. At least conversation didn’t feel stunted anymore. </p><p>"I still don’t like peas," Charlie said, firmly.</p><p>He folded his arms across his stomach and sat down in his chair. He knew the drill. No leaving the table until he had eaten up every last vegetable. Unfortunately Steve didn't know that, and he had no idea what to do now.</p><p>"Don't you wanna eat just a little more?" He coaxed.</p><p>Charlie shook his head stubbornly and screwed his eyes shut at the same time. Steve hummed. He was beginning to doubt his prowess with kids. Grace also knew the drill. If Steve wasn’t able to step up to the plate, she would have to.</p><p>"Charlie? See that airplane?" She said.</p><p>Charlie wrinkled his nose dubiously and opened his eyes again. "What airplane?"</p><p>Grace scooped up a forkful of peas and made engine noises as she pretended to fly the fork through the air, and land it near Charlie's mouth.</p><p>"Wow, another safe journey- oh no a giant monsters coming to swallow the plane whole! Here he comes!"</p><p>Charlie giggled as he leaned forward to inhale the entire fork with a humph. </p><p>"Ahhh! Oh no, the giant monster got us! Oh noooo!"</p><p>Charlie giggled again as Grace handed him back his fork. He didn’t think twice about inhaling all of the peas left on his plate and making slobbery monster noises to do so. Steve's shoulders sagged. The airplane trick was the oldest in the world and it hadn’t even crossed his mind.</p><p>"Thank, uh, thank you Grace," he muttered.</p><p>Grace shrugged. She knew her brother well. Between Danny's work and Rachel constantly visiting Stan in Vegas, Grace spent more time with Charlie than anyone else. Grace stifled a yawn as she picked at her rice.</p><p>"That's a big yawn. Big day at school?" Steve asked.</p><p>"Not really," Grace shrugged, "we had English and Math and on the playground-"</p><p>She cut herself off. Whatever had happened, she wasn't eager to share with her uncle. Especially one who worked so closely with her father. Yet the way she halted raised Steve's suspicions. </p><p>"On the playground, what? What happened on the playground?" Steve asked. </p><p>"On the playground, I hung out with Cooper."</p><p>She shrugged like it was nothing, but if it was nothing, why bother trying to keep it secret.</p><p>"Cooper? Who’s- who's Cooper?" He asked.</p><p>"He's my friend," Grace said.</p><p>"He is huh?" Steve asked, suspiciously. He wondered if Danny knew about this Cooper. "What'd you and this Cooper play on the playground?"</p><p>"I played hopscotch!" Charlie cried.</p><p>"You did?! That's so cool!" Steve forced a smile.</p><p>He in no way wanted to discourage Charlie from sharing with him, but he also wanted Grace to keep talking. Now she had a convenient out. Trying to wrench the conversation back to Cooper would scare her off. It was frustrating, but there was nothing he could do.</p><p>"I won!" Charlie beamed.</p><p>"You wo- you won?" Steve repeated, "How do you win hopscotch?"</p><p>"By being the best," Charlie said, as if it were obvious. </p><p>"That'll do it," Steve nodded.</p><p>Charlie nodded back, and yawned so wide that Steve could see the mashed up food at the back of his tongue. He tried not to look disgusted.</p><p>"You tired too little man? What times your bedtime?" He asked.</p><p>"About an hour ago," Grace said, calmly. </p><p>Steve sat upright. "What?! God it's so late! Why didn’t you tell me?!"</p><p>"We hadn't had dinner yet," Grace shrugged.</p><p>Steve groaned. He hadn't even thought about the time. Usually he could be awake half the night before he realised the cramping in his stomach was hunger. Expecting kids to be able to regulate to his schedule was impossible. He would need to adjust. </p><p>"Right. Right, right. That's on me. Tomorrow, I will not get distracted by anything, and dinner will be earlier, and you will go to bed on time!" He said, firmly. </p><p>"I haven't had my bath yet!" Charlie whined.</p><p>"I don't- I don't have a bath buddy. I can give you a shower? You want a navy shower, like me?" Steve asked.</p><p>"What's a navy shower?" Charlie asked </p><p>"Finish your rice and I'll show you," Steve said. </p><p>Charlie shook his head. "Don’t like rice."</p><p>"Grace?" Steve pleaded quietly.</p><p>"No can do, he doesn't like rice," Grace said.</p><p>Steve sighed. Danny hadn't been gone long enough to even land in New Jersey yet and already he'd made a mess of things.</p><p>"What time is your bedtime Grace?" Steve asked.</p><p>"In about an hour," Grace lied.</p><p>"Honestly?" Steve asked suspiciously. </p><p>Grace gave him a perfectly innocence look. "Would I lie to you Uncle Steve?"</p><p>Steve eyed her suspiciously. The trouble was that she had a cop for a father. One who taught her poker. She had learned early on how to read tells and how to control her own. It helped her to get away with things. Eventually Steve just hummed.</p><p>"Go put your pyjamas on anyway. Come on Charlie, let's go give you a shower," he said.</p><p>Three minutes was a long time for a navy shower. It was the maximum time that Steve tended to spend cleaning himself. It took four just to get Charlie undressed because he tried to take his pants off over his shoes and got his head stuck in his shirt. Steve tried his best to stay calm and sound patient, but he was wearing thin. </p><p>It was beginning to dawn on him that Danny's constant complaints about parenthood - most of which were about Stan and/or Rachel or the school or the hospital - were justified. Although he rarely complained about anything to do with his kids. He definitely never once told Steve about how much effort it was to give a kid a shower. </p><p>Children, Steve had learnt, did not like getting their faces wet. At least Charlie didn't. Which meant that he wriggled a lot when the shampoo came near him, and he panicked while Steve was rubbing it in, which caused the shampoo to go in his eyes. <em>That</em> caused Charlie to start screaming and crying because it stung and he was convinced that the whole world was falling down. </p><p>Steve had to take the shower head off if its stand and rise out Charlie's eyes to the best of his abilities while kneeling in the shower beside him. Charlie was still sobbing as he buried his head against Steve's shoulder, searching for reassurance. </p><p>Grace heard the whole thing from downstairs. She sat in her pyjamas on the couch and did nothing to try and help them. She did think about it. But the longer it took Steve to shower Charlie and settle him into bed, the longer she got to stay up unsupervised and watch what she liked on the TV. Danny only let her stay up for special occasions. </p><p>It may have been selfish, but she had been taught from a very young age that you needed to grab every opportunity with both hands, and <em>this</em> was an opportunity she was going to make the most of. Besides, Uncle Steve loved her. He was a push over. He would have told her he could handle this and sent her away anyway. This cut out the middle man.</p><p>Steve carried Charlie into the spare bedroom with his head still buried in his shoulder and his hair still shampooed. He had managed to wriggle on his pyjama bottoms while he cried and Steve had decided that, for tonight at least, that was good enough. </p><p>"Alright buddy, get some sleep okay? It's been a big day, and you'll need your rest," he said.</p><p>Steve had intended to leave straight away by Charlie latched onto his arm as he turned.</p><p>"Uncle Steve?" He asked quietly. </p><p>"Yeah?" Steve asked, fighting back the impatience.</p><p>Charlie's eyes were wide. His face the picture of worry. He was too young to learn how to mask his feelings yet. </p><p>"Will you check for monsters?" He pleaded. </p><p>Steve frowned. "Monsters?"</p><p>Charlie nodded. He clutched the covers anxiously,</p><p>"Under the bed. They live under the floorboards and they come up under the bed. Will you check that they’re not there please?"</p><p>"Sure bud," Steve said.</p><p>He got down onto his knees and peered under the bed. There was nothing of interest underneath. Just Junior's go bag. Steve recognised the canvas duffle. It was the same as his main go bag under his bed. Military issue. No monsters though.</p><p>"Nope. No monsters down here," Steve said.</p><p>He knelt up as he said it, and gave Charlie a warm smile to ease him. Charlie still held onto the bed covers.</p><p>"What about the cupboard?" He asked nervously.</p><p>"There's a rug in the cupboard. It blocks up the floorboards so monsters cant get in," Steve lied.</p><p>"What if it came through the window and snuck in during the day to wait until night to get me?" Charlie asked.</p><p>Steve didn’t really had a response to that. He couldn't deny the idea of someone or something sneaking into the house to hide out and strike later. He knew better than that. He had seen it. The aftermath of it anyway.</p><p>It still sent shivers down his spine.</p><p>"Okay, let's check the cupboard," he said.</p><p>Steve opened the cupboard. All that was in it was Junior's shirts hanging neatly on the bar.</p><p>"See - Charlie?" </p><p>Charlie had buried himself under the covers when Steve opened the cupboard. He didn't want to know what was inside. He didn’t like the risk. Steve softened. He sat on the edge of the bed beside him.</p><p>"Charlie, it's okay, look. All empty. No monsters. And there won't be any monsters at all anywhere y’know why?" He asked.</p><p>Charlie shook his head. "Why?"</p><p>"Because I'm a law officer and I arrest them for breaking and entering so they're all in jail," Steve smirked.</p><p>He said it so confidently that Charlie brought it. He let the covers slip away from him.</p><p>"Promise?" He asked quietly.</p><p>"Promise," Steve said.</p><p>Charlie nodded. He still looked a little nervous, but at least he was assured that he was safe. </p><p>"Gnight uncle Steve," he muttered.</p><p>Steve laid a kiss on his head and immediately regretted it. He had forgotten the shampoo.  "Night Charlie. Sleep tight."</p><p>Steve turned out the light on his way out without thinking. Charlie yelped. Steve rushed back in to turn the light back on and apologised rapidly. He turned on the bedside lamp, settled Charlie back in, and shut the door behind him. Steve laid his head on the back of the door and let out a pained sigh.</p><p>This was already harder than he had been expecting. <br/>
He wandered back to the living room and his heart fell to see Grace lounging across the couch and munching on a packet of out of date chips.</p><p>"You’re still up?" He tried not to sound so devastated, but failed.</p><p>Grace looked up at him, and blinked innocently. Honestly, she was exhausted. It was much later than she thought she would manage to stay up till her eyes were beginning to sting when she blinked. Steve picked up the remote to turn off the TV.</p><p>"Bed. Now."</p><p>Grace knew not to argue. She couldn’t push against him. Not when she was already toeing the line. She just hurried off to bed, wishing him goodnight as she went. Steve sighed and leaned on the back of the couch. </p><p>"This is fine. I just have to bring it back into control. In the morning I will fix everything," he said stubbornly.</p><p>Even he wasn’t convinced.</p><p>The bed was cold, and the sheets were crisp, and the blackout curtains made the room uncomfortably dark. At least she had her phone screen to add a little light. Grace had stayed here before, which only made things worse if anything. Everything felt vaguely familiar, but mildly off. Like a place in a dream that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She couldn't quite settle in. </p><p>Then she swore inwardly. She had forgotten to call her mother. In the rush of things, the sudden change of plan, Grace wondered if anyone had remembered to tell Rachel anything. If she knew her father, probably not, and probably deliberately so.</p><p>She sighed. </p><p>Things would be so much easier if people would just talk to each other. </p><p>It was almost one in the morning, and Steve was laying in bed, almost asleep, when he suddenly realised he hadn't made either of them brush their teeth before bed. </p><p>"Ah shit."</p><p>He covered his eyes with his hands in frustration. Everything had happened so quickly that he had barely managed to scrape together a plan. Fortunately his partner was true to his word. Steve's phone pinged in the darkness. His chest eased to see a list of instructions and reminders to help him manage the kids through the week.</p><p>Good old Danno. He was always there when they needed him. </p><p>There was a dull thud in the darkness. It was quiet. Almost missable. Steve glanced away from the pale glow of his phone to look into the dark. A shiver went down his spine as he noticed his cupboard door was ajar. </p><p>Sometimes monsters came creeping in through the window during the day, and stayed hidden there until the cover of darkness. </p><p>Sometimes those monsters weren't from kids nightmares. They were solid, real life people, with vengeance on their mind and guns in their hand. <br/>
Steve's hand crept across to his bedside draw, his eye still on the cupboard. He had a handgun in a safe in this drawer. Even in the darkness he didn’t need to look to unlock it.</p><p>His foot curled cautiously out of bed. The rest of him slowly followed. He was careful where to place his feet to avoid the creaking floorboards. He advanced slowly. The gun in his hand was loaded and ready. His breath shook.</p><p>Steve flung the door open, held his weapon out, and shouted "Five-O hands in the air!"</p><p>He paused. He flicked on the light. His shoulders sagged.</p><p>The cupboard was empty. Well, empty of people anyway. An old pair of shoes had fallen to the floor. Since they were tied together by the laces, it had taken a while for them to fall. Steve's mind was just playing tricks on him.</p><p>He disengaged his gun and unloaded it with a sigh. "There's no such thing as monsters."<br/>
<br/>
...</p><p>Steve had to stop himself from leaving the house to go for a swim in the morning. It was yet another change to his say he hadn't thought about. Just like how he hadn't thought about how to get the kids to school. Grace's bus didn't come out this way, so he was going to have to drop her off in rush hour. The idea of that didn't appeal. </p><p>What also didn’t appeal was having to drag Grace out of bed in the first place. But she seemed to be sleeping through her alarm, and it was his fault that she had gone to bed so late in the first place.</p><p>He was hesitant to open the door so he knocked first. "Grace? Gracie c'mon its time for school... Grace?"</p><p>When he opened the door, she was still asleep. He sighed. The poor girl almost definitely didn’t get enough sleep. Kids needed a full eight hours. She definitely had not had that. But Danny was going to be furious with him if she was late to school. </p><p>"C'mon Gracie, get up!" He urged gently.</p><p>Grace groaned in resistance and buried herself deeper into the covers. Steve put his hands on his hips and huffed. She was just like her father. He would also rather cocoon himself in blankets than get up when he needed to. Although that had lead to Danny trying to roll up into the covers, forgetting he was on a couch, and he had fallen straight onto the floor with a yelp of alarm.</p><p><em>That</em> had woken him up.</p><p>Steve chuckled at the memory. Unfortunately that wasn't going to help him now. Grace was right in the middle of a king-sized bed and she was tiny. Whichever way she rolled, she still had plenty of bed to keep her up right. </p><p>And plenty of bed for a very awake toddler to climb up (with a little boost from Steve) and bounce on the bed. </p><p>"Gracie, Gracie, Gracie wake up!" He chanted as he bounced. </p><p>"<em>Charlie!</em> Get <em>out!"</em> Grace yelled</p><p>Steve chuckled. Now she was awake too. Steve caught onto Charlie under his armpits and hoisted him off of the bed.</p><p>"Alright you, go find the TV," he ordered.</p><p>"Yay! TV!" Charlie giggled before speeding off merrily.</p><p>That kid was full of energy. </p><p>"Get up Grace, you can't be late," Steve said. </p><p>"I'm up, I'm up," Grace complained, midyawn.</p><p>"I'll make breakfast," Steve said. </p><p><em>Pancakes,</em> he thought, <em>I'll make pancakes</em>. And he would have, if he had any of the ingredients. He hummed dubiously. Steve had never noticed how little food he kept in the house. </p><p>Usually he was eating out at a restaurant with Five-O or the governor, or he swung by Kamekona's for food. Sometimes he survived on what other people brought him. Junior, for example, made an excellent gumbo when he didn’t forget it was on the stove and burn it. One time he had come home to find Kamekona cooking breakfast for him because he won a bet. As unwelcome as it had been, it kept him fed for a week without any thinking. Jerry liked to cook too. Sometimes he's turn up with a casserole because he thought turning up with a gift would stop him being turned away. Add to that the constant left overs he was sent home with by Danny or Catherine, or what was left at his place after a party, and Steve didn't ever think about food.</p><p>Hell if he didn't bother to rely on all of that, he still had boxes of navy rations stashed around the place and those things never went off.</p><p>But that meant that all he really had to offer the kids for breakfast was toast.</p><p>"Uh, uncle Steve?" Grace asked, tentatively. </p><p>"Yeah Gracie?" Steve asked, half listening.</p><p>He was mentally forming a shopping list of major food groups to make sure the kids got all the nutrients they needed. </p><p>"Lunch?" Grace asked. </p><p>Steve's stomach fell. "Oh. Um..."</p><p>If breakfast was just toast, Grace wasn't keen to see what was on the menu for lunch. Nor was Steve. He was definitely going to need to hit up the store today. </p><p>"what's the going rate of lunch money these days? fifteen dollars enough?" He asked.</p><p>Danny made pack lunches the night before so they were ready to be put in her backpack as she left the house. When he couldn't, for whatever reasons, he gave her three dollars. Sometimes he gave her five and told her he expected change. He never asked for it though. Fifteen was wonder money. She blinked at Steve in surprise and he instantly knew that was too much.</p><p>"Here's ten. Don't spend it all at once," he warned.</p><p>Grace stared at him uncertainly. She wasn’t sure if this was a test. When he didn't back down, she took it. From what she could tell, that was hers now. He didn't expect change.</p><p>"Okay uncle Steve," she said slowly. </p><p>"I'm gonna drop by the store today to get some food. Text me anything specific you want," he asked. </p><p>She blinked, "Anything?"</p><p>"Don't go crazy, I still remember the candy floss incident," he warned</p><p>Grace did too. It was a hard thing to forget. Steve glanced at his watch.</p><p>"Alright, get a shirt on your brother and grab your bag, we gotta go," he declared. </p><p>Charlie beamed as he threw his arms up into the air so Grace could throw a shirt on him. Steve hoisted him up again with one hand, grabbed his shoes with the other, and ushered Grace to the car as he locked up. </p><p>"Can I go in the front?" Charlie asked. </p><p>"No you have to go in the booster seat," Grace said.</p><p>Steve paused midstep. Grace was right. Charlie had to go in a booster seat. Steve did not have a booster seat. He swore inwardly.</p><p>"Alright, add that to the list. One booster seat. And you’re both in the front because I don’t have a back seat," Steve declared. </p><p>As they buckled Charlie in as tightly as they could in the middle seat between them, Grace glanced at Steve. He seemed woefully unprepared for them. It filled her with doubt. She was fairly certain no one had told Rachel what was going on either, and she wanted to know if it was supposed to be a secret.</p><p>"Uncle Steve?" She began.</p><p>"Yeah Grace?" He wasn’t listening again.</p><p>She bit her lip. There was no nice way to say, does my mother know you're attempting to look after us even though you clearly have no idea how to, and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. </p><p>"Nothing."</p><p>He didn't question it. His focus was on getting her to school on time. Charlie's was on pressing all the buttons on the dashboard, until he figured out how to turn on the radio. </p><p>Grace held onto her rucksack as she jumped out of her uncle's truck. She had to jump. It was too high for her to just step down. Her friends nudged each other and gestured towards her as she arrived. Steve eyed them. It was a fair mix of boys and girls. No way to tell which one was Conner.</p><p>"Have a nice day Gracie," Steve called.</p><p>"Bye uncle Steve," she called back.</p><p>It wasn't <em>embarrassing</em> to have to jump out of a pick up truck exactly. She wasn't ashamed in any way that her Uncle Steve had volunteered to look after her. It was just that it didn't feel quite right. This was the kind of thing that Danny would definitely tell her off for.</p><p>But she soon forgot all about the uneasy feeling in her chest when her friends swarmed her, full of questions about the truck and the stranger driving it.</p><p>Steve smiled to himself as he watched Grace head inside. She was safe for the day. Happy, fed, and on time. So far he was nailing this. To make things better, Charlie had turned the radio down again, so Steve could now hear the ringing in his ears. And Charlie humming along to the song.</p><p>It took him by surprise to hear him hum. Charlie didn't know the words but he knew the tune and he tried to sing along to that. Sometimes Steve forgot that Charlie was actually a very small <em>person,</em> with thoughts and ideas and opinions of his own.</p><p>"You like this song Charlie?" He smiled. </p><p>"Mommy sings it," Charlie nodded.</p><p>"Yeah? I like this song too," Steve smiled. </p><p>He turned it up a little louder and the two of them sang along as they drove to the store.</p><p>It was easier to put Charlie in the cart and put his shoes on the seat next to him, than to put the shoes on Charlie. Especially since Steve had forgotten to put socks on him. Charlie was stubborn and he wriggled and he didn't want shoes, so fine. He didn't wear shoes. Lucky him, he was in Hawaii. Shoes were not always required here.</p><p>Steve leaned his weight against the bar of the cart as he lazily pushed Charlie along down the aisles. When the aisles were emptier, he spend up slightly, winning giggles from the toddler.</p><p>"Whee!" He beamed.</p><p>Steve chuckled warmly, "Ah you speed freak you." </p><p>"Faster Uncle Steve faster!"</p><p>"Okay but only because the aisle's empty. Hold on tight. You ready?"</p><p>Charlie held on tightly as Steve stepped back for a run up. The cart was essentially empty and lighter to manoeuvre which made it faster. Like a fast bumper car.</p><p>"WHEE!" </p><p>He ran halfway down the aisle, and skidded his shoes along the floor to slow back down. Charlie howled with laughter.</p><p>"That was fun!" He cried.</p><p>"Yeah it was buddy," Steve chuckled. Hearing the kid so happy made his heart warmer. Then he spotted something on the shelf. "Hey animal crackers! You like animal crackers Charlie?"</p><p>"Yum!" Charlie beamed.</p><p>"Me too. We'll pick up some of them," Steve handed them to Charlie so he could throw them over his head and into the cart behind him. "And y’know what else we should pick up?"</p><p>"Cookies!" Charlie beamed.</p><p>Steve moved across to find a packet of freshly baked double chocolate chip cookies. He handed them to Charlie to throw into the cart. Charlie did not. He tore it open and stuffed the first one he caught into his mouth.</p><p>"Charlie, stop that, we haven't paid for that yet," Steve scolded gently.</p><p>"I'm hungry!" Charlie whined, though his cookie.</p><p>"We had breakfast, like-" Steve paused. He frowned. "Charlie, what did you have for breakfast?"</p><p>"KitKat," Charlie stated. </p><p>Steve frowned. He didn’t have KitKat. He hadn't had KitKat since Mary last stayed with him and that was a long time ago now. </p><p>"Where'd you find a KitKat?" Steve asked.</p><p>"Grace gave it to me," Charlie shrugged. </p><p>Grace had clearly kept a KitKat close in case he forgot to feed her breakfast, and then gave it to Charlie so he wouldn’t go hungry. Because Steve had been so eager to get her to school on time he had forgotten to feed Charlie. </p><p>Steve groaned and covered his eyes with his hand. "Oh I'm such a terrible babysitter... alright, you eat this. Eat them all up. I'll grab another packet too."</p><p>Steve grabbed another packet of cookies and dropped them into the cart behind Charlie. Charlie watched him go, his eyes wide as he snacked on the cookies. Steve glanced at him as he did. They were wide open, right down the centre. They couldn't be closed now. And they sure did look good...</p><p>"Alright, gimme."</p><p>Charlie held out a cookie, and Steve bit straight into it. He leaned back against the bar to push the cart onward. </p><p>"We're definitely going back to get cereal too. I can't have you telling Danny I gave Grace toast and forgot to feed you," he said, through the cookie.</p><p>"I like toast," Charlie said.</p><p>"Then we'll pick up more bread," Steve said.</p><p>"And pop tarts," Charlie grinned.</p><p>Steve wrinkled his nose. "Maybe."</p><p>They picked up pop tarts. They also grabbed malasadas, donuts, frozen pizzas, burgers, burger buns, bagels, sandwich fillings, and a whole bunch of snacks.</p><p>The cashier didn't notice how much snack and sugary food they were buying, but Steve felt more and more embarrassed as they got packed away.</p><p>"We need to get more fruit and veg Charlie. What vegetables do you and Grace eat?" He asked. </p><p>"Candyfloss," Charlie stated.</p><p>The cashier chuckled to herself, but said nothing. </p><p>"That's not a vegetable. Vegetables are green," Steve said.</p><p>"Mint choc chip ice cream!" Charlie beamed. </p><p>"That's not a vegetable either," Steve said.</p><p>"In his defence, it is green," the cashier said.</p><p>"That's true. Good job bud," Steve smiled.</p><p>Charlie beamed proudly. It almost hurt to pay for this amount of food. It was far higher than he expected, but he said nothing. It had to be done. They got back to the truck and piled the bags in the back. Steve scooped Charlie out of the cart, opened the truck door, and had to bite his lip to keep from swearing.</p><p><em>"Booster seat!"</em> He hissed furiously. </p><p>Steve glanced down at Charlie, and back at the store. Legally he needed a booster seat. As much as Steve didn't want to go all the way back to find one, it had to be done. </p><p>"Alright, here we go again," he sighed.</p><p>He picked up Charlie again and sat him on his hip. This would go faster if he didn't make Charlie walk barefoot, he decided.</p><p>"Are we getting fruit this time?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"Nah, there’s a nice little market stall at a farm my father used to take me to where they sell home grown fruit, it's much tastier. Organic too," Steve said.</p><p>"Oooh. Like liver," Charlie grinned. </p><p>Steve gave him a puzzled look, "Huh?"</p><p>"Liver's an organ," Charlie nodded confidently, "The nurse told me all about them while Mommy and Daddy were talking to the doctor."</p><p>"Organs? Oh <em>organ</em>ic, no, no, that doesn't mean about organs, it's... um... well, it's healthy. Nice and healthy," Steve explained.</p><p>"Aren’t all fruits healthy?" Charlie asked, confused.</p><p>"They are, yeah, but-"</p><p>"Then aren’t they all organic?"</p><p>Steve licked his lips as he glanced around the store and tried to think of where the booster seats might be and how to explain what organic meant and how to differentiate between organic and less organic fruits in a way a three year old would understand. Eventually he decided not to try.</p><p>"So if liver is one organ what are all the others?" He asked instead. </p><p>Charlie was still listing off organs and explaining where in his torso each one was while they were waiting in line. The cashier smiled warmly as he finished explaining that even though you were born with two kidneys you only need one to survive. </p><p>"What a cute little brainbox. You gonna be a doctor when you grow up little one?" The cashier asked. </p><p>"Maybe! Or a fireman!" Charlie beamed. </p><p>"Aww, well I bet you'll be great," she said.</p><p>Charlie puffed out his chest proudly at the idea and Steve chuckled. Danny had dreams of Charlie becoming a cop, like him, but Charlie really liked fire engines. Just like his pop-pop. Still, Steve was certain they'd all sleep a little safer if Charlie was in the emergency services.</p><p>"Mahalo," Steve smiled as he took the booster seat in one hand.</p><p>"Drive safe," the cashier said.</p><p>Steve strapped in the booster seat and Charlie on top of it and gave a satisfied nod. Charlie picked up another cookie from the packet he had left in the front seat, and ate it while Steve got into the drivers seat.</p><p>"Alright little man, we are back on schedule! Wow, is that the time? We need to pick up this fruit fast if we're gonna beat traffic to get home before Grace leaves school," Steve said.</p><p>"Does that mean the car's gonna go woo-woo?" Charlie asked eagerly. </p><p>Steve smiled. "You been playing with Danno's car switches Charlie?"</p><p>"I like the woo-woo," Charlie said.</p><p>"I like the woo-woo too," Steve smiled.</p><p>He did. He really did. It was childish to admit it and he never would to Danny, but something in him still got a kick out of turning on the lights and sirens and rushing to the scene of a crime full speed ahead. It made him feel important. And in <em>Danny's</em> car, they could actually go full speed ahead. Part of Steve wished Danny had left his keys behind when he ran back to Jersey. At least then he'd have a booster seat and back seats to keep the kids protected. </p><p>As if reading his mind, Danny's picture appeared on his phone. Steve allowed the Bluetooth to answer it.</p><p>"Danny, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked.</p><p>"Hi Danno!" Charlie shouted. </p><p>He was very excited to see his dads face, even if it was just a grumpy looking photo on a phone.</p><p>"Ah, well, that answers that," Danny said as if he had just been told everything he needed to hear. </p><p>"What answers what?" Steve asked. </p><p>"I got a phone call from the day-care asking what time Charlie was going to be dropped off," Danny said pointedly.</p><p>Steve groaned as he remembered the text message telling him not to forget to take Charlie to day-care. More important things had been on his mind and honestly, with a curious toddler in tow it took longer than he anticipated. </p><p>"Oh no, I forgot! I had to go to the store- I'll take him there right now," Steve promised. </p><p>"There's no point, I told you, he's only there for four hours max a day and you've already missed two! By the time you get there and go home it’ll be time to pick him up! I texted you all of this Steve, it's all on your phone!" Danny complained.</p><p>"Uncle Steve's being very good Danno, don’t be cross!" Charlie urged. </p><p>Steve grinned. It was gratifying to hear that at least someone thought he was doing a good job. "Mahalo Charlie."</p><p>"I'm not- I'm not cross buddy. I’m just..." Danny trailed off.</p><p>His tone changed when he was talking to his kids. He didn't like lying to them, but sometimes keeping them in the dark was protective. Sometimes - like telling him he wasn't cross with Steve - it was just to make himself feel better. </p><p>"You can text the end of that sentence too if you want," Steve teased.</p><p>At the end of the phone Danny took a deep breath. Steve frowned. He could hear the stress in just that sound.</p><p>"Everything alright over there man?" He asked, concerned. </p><p>It wasn't. Reliving the stress and frustration of being unable to catch the killer in the first place was not fun. Added to the concern that leaving the kids with Steve was a bad idea, and the fact he kept putting off calling Rachel to tell her what had happened, he was feeling rather stressed. </p><p>But he couldn't let Charlie know. </p><p>It wasn't fair to the kids to let them see him slip up and be annoyed at little things because he was stressed. Honestly part of him wished that Steve was there to bicker with him so he at least had an outlet.<br/>
But he wasn’t. He was at home. With the kids. At least he was trying to be helpful. </p><p>"Steve, please tell me everything else is under control? That Grace is at school?" Danny urged.  </p><p>"Yes, Grace is at school. She woke up nice and early, put on her uniform, brushed her teeth-" Steve began.</p><p>"No she didn’t, we didn't bring tooth brushes, remember Uncle Steve?" Charlie interrupted. </p><p>Steve winced. He could see the expression on Danny's face just from the silence. The slacked jaw, the slow blink, the folded arms, all of it.</p><p>"They don't have toothbrushes?" Danny repeated.</p><p>"They do now," Steve assured him.</p><p>"That- that's on me. I should have made sure they packed toothbrushes," Danny muttered. </p><p>"We have awesome bamboo toothbrushes Danno! Mine's green! Uncle Steve brought them!" Charlie declared. </p><p>"Bamboo?" Danny repeated. </p><p>"Better for the oceans," Steve explained. </p><p>Two new bamboo toothbrushes (Charlie's choice) and brand new kids toothpaste (for baby teeth) were packed away somewhere in the bags, ready for use tonight. </p><p>Danny felt a tug of guilt. He hadn't even thought about the little things like teeth, he definitely hadn't reminded Steve about them, but Steve had found those bumps and smoothed them without his help.</p><p>And here he was getting annoyed that he had forgotten about day-care.</p><p>"I- whatever. Great! I'll check in later, do me a favour and don’t forget to pick Grace up from school," he urged.</p><p>"I won't! Its been bumpy but I've got everything under control Danny!" Steve promised. </p><p>"Right... alright. Thanks. Bye," Danny muttered.</p><p>"Aloha," Steve said.</p><p>"Bye Charlie," Danny said.</p><p>"Bye Danno!" Charlie called.</p><p>There was a beep as the call disconnected. Steve sighed. Danny was clearly already stressed and now he going to be worried about what other bumps might crop up with Steve and the kids. He felt awful.</p><p>"Hey bud, next time Danno calls, remind me to give you a cookie," Steve said.</p><p>"Okay!" Charlie beamed.</p><p>Anything for a cookie.</p><p>With nothing else to do today (anymore) Steve drove back to the house. He gave Charlie the bags of fruit they had brought and asked him to fill the fruit bowl on the table for him while he put the rest of the shopping away. Charlie took to the bowl like Tetris. He went as far as to take the skin off of a few bananas to fit them in underneath the pineapple. then he presented it with pride to Steve. </p><p>Steve put on his best smile as he took a long look at the bowl. The pears at the bottom were bruised now, and the cherries were scattered loose across the bottom of the bowl instead of in the punnet they came in, and the banana skins had been draped across the mangos like wigs.</p><p>"Wow. That’s uh... that’s creative. But why don’t we put these in the compost, and use these as lunch?" Steve asked. </p><p>"Banana sandwiches?!" Charlie gasped eagerly.</p><p>"You want a banana sandwich?" Steve asked uncertainly. He didn’t know what they were, but he could guess.</p><p>Charlie nodded. "Uh huh, mommy makes them with butter and cuts off the crust for me and makes them little triangles!"</p><p>"That I can do. Wanna find some cartoons on TV too?" Steve asked.</p><p>"Okay!"</p><p>Now this seemed easy enough. Charlie sat down calmly and watched the TV and practically inhaled the sandwiches he had been given. They even made it out the door and all the way to Grace's school in time for her to leave.  Steve scanned the crowd of kids she waved goodbye in search of familiar faces. The trouble was that all kids looked relatively the same at a distance, and he had no way of knowing what their names were.</p><p>As she glanced around in search of him, Steve raised a hand and called, "Aloha Grace!" </p><p>She grinned as she waved back. "Uncle Steve!"</p><p>She crossed the road to where he had pulled up and hugged him. He grinned. This was nice. Steve was convinced he'd really gotten control of this now. </p><p>"How was your day?" He asked warmly.</p><p>"Same old, same old," she shrugged, "Wanna see what I drew?"</p><p>"Of course!" Steve declared. </p><p>Grace pulled her rucksack off and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She unfolded it to show him a drawing of two sea turtles circling each other. Bubbles were coming out of their noses as they went, but they were tied together by some kind of old fishing line. Steve wasn't really sure what to make of it.</p><p>"This is gorgeous, you’re quite the artist," he declared. </p><p>She beamed as she folded it back up. "Mahalo. It's part of a competition to design the new logo for the school marine preservation program."</p><p>"You think you’re gonna win?" He asked.</p><p>"We find out on Friday. I hope so though. Marine preservation is really important, plastics are destroying the oceans," she said.</p><p>"Then you are going to love your new toothbrush," Steve declared.</p><p>Grace tilted her head at him. "New toothbrush? What was wrong with the last one?"</p><p>"Nothings wrong except they’re in Danno's house," Steve shrugged.</p><p>She frowned, "No they’re not, I packed them into my bag. They're in your bathroom, I put them there myself."</p><p>Charlie sank lower into his new booster seat as Steve turned to face him through the windscreen.</p><p>"Charlie? is this true?" He asked. </p><p>"No?" Charlie lied uncertainly. </p><p>Steve's shoulders sagged. "What'd you do Charlie?"</p><p>"I told mom I wanted a green toothbrush but she got me blue! I wanted green!" Charlie whined.</p><p>"Well you've got green now, but I shouldn't let you have it! That was naughty Charlie," Steve scolded.</p><p>Charlie pouted. He looked so guilty that Steve forgave him instantly. He muttered, "Sorry uncle Steve."</p><p>Steve just shook his head and sighed. Grace's stomach grumbled as she pulled her rucksack back on.</p><p>"Uncle Steve did you go shopping yet? I’m starving," she said.</p><p>"Yeah, plenty of food in doors for you," he said.</p><p>She climbed into the empty passenger seat, and smirked to herself. Charlie had a new booster seat. Maybe Steve was taking this babysitting thing seriously. It settled the concern she had in her chest. But when she yawned, Steve found concerns of his own.</p><p>"You okay sweetie? You look like you didn't sleep all night. Was it really that late when I sent you to bed?" He asked, guilt in his tone. </p><p>"No- well, yeah, but I couldn't sleep," she shrugged.</p><p>He frowned, "Anything keeping you awake? You know you can tell me anything."</p><p>"I know," she said, simply.</p><p>There was a slight pause. He waited for her to explain herself, but she didn’t. He licked his lips.</p><p>"And if its important to you, I won't tell Danno," he added.</p><p>That got her. Her eyes flicked onto him, suspiciously. </p><p>"You wont?" She asked.</p><p>"Promise," he crossed his heart with one hand, holding the steering wheel tight with the other.</p><p>"It's just..." </p><p>She considered telling him the truth for a moment. just a moment. but then she decided against it. Just because he said he wouldn’t tell Danny, didn’t mean he wouldn't. Adults had a tendency to lie about things like that and call it "doing what's best for you". She hated that.</p><p>"It's just really dark in that room," she muttered.</p><p>Steve frowned and glanced at her for a second before returning to the road. "Are you afraid of the dark?'</p><p>"I'm not afraid of anything!" She argued defensively. </p><p>"Me too!" Charlie declared. </p><p>Both were lying. You didn't need to be trained in recognising the tell tale signs of a lie to know it, but Steve was, and he could.</p><p>"I'll get you a lamp," he promised. </p><p>Grace sank in her seat, sheepishly. She was too old to be this weary of the dark. "Thank you."</p><p>There was another long pause, but this silence felt much more comfortable than the one at dinner last night.</p><p>Which must have been noticeable because Charlie said, "Uncle Steve?"</p><p>"Yeah Charlie?"</p><p>"What's for dinner?"</p><p>"Burgers."</p><p>"Yes!"</p><p>...</p><p>Dinner was early. Arguably too early. Steve had learned from the night before, and he wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. As soon as they got home, he set Charlie in front of the TV and headed for the kitchen. Grace left her school bag on the floor by the door, dropped her coat and kicked her shoes to one side as she headed for the couch. She dropped down next to Charlie, and immediately they started bickering over the remote. </p><p>"UNCLE STEVE GRACE WON'T LET ME WATCH TV!" Charlie yelled.</p><p>"Charlie we've had the TV all day, let Gracie watch her show," Steve called back.</p><p>"THATS NOT FAIR!" Charlie howled.</p><p>"Yes it is!" Grace argued back.</p><p>Charlie howled louder. Steve blinked. He hadn't seen this kid throw a tantrum before, but he could do like a professional. He was already on the floor screaming when Steve hurried back into the room. Grace, used to her brother's tantrums by now, turned the volume up on the remote. Charlie screamed louder. Grace turned up the TV.</p><p>Steve's eyes widened at the two of them. They had been home thirty seconds and already there was deafening volume in the house and he had no idea what to do.</p><p>"Grace! Turn that down!" He barked.</p><p>"But I can't hear it over him!" she called back.</p><p><em>"Now</em> Grace!" He ordered.</p><p>She huffed but turned the volume down. She folded her arms across her chest and slumped on the couch to sulk. Charlie continued and screaming into the carpet. </p><p>"Charlie! <em>Charlie!</em> Stop that! Take a breath! How much air can you hold in your lungs? Damn, you'd be a good SEAL," Steve said.</p><p>He knelt down on the floor and lifted Charlie up. Charlie threw himself out flat in Steve's arms, making it harder for him to be carried, but Steve persevered. He took him outside into the garden, and set him down on the grass. Charlie still screamed, but it was quieter out here. They weren’t in a confined space.</p><p>Steve sat down on the grass beside him, and stared out into the sea. He couldn’t hear the usual crash of the waves over Charlie screaming into the dirt with his head in his arms. Steve's heart was in his knees. He had never seen Charlie throw a tantrum. Danny had <em>told him</em> about it before, sure, but only in passing. Like when he had animal crackers in his pocket to snack on while they were waiting for Harry's daughter to finish shopping. But he hadn't seen it. He hadn’t anticipated it. He had no idea how to stop it.</p><p>"The trouble is Charlie-"</p><p>When he spoke he kept his voice level, because he was really just talking to himself. The moment words came out of him, Charlie screamed louder. Steve stayed level.</p><p>"The trouble is I don't remember what it's like to be three. I don't remember what my mom did when I had a tantrum. I remember dad shouting, but I don't remember if that’s what made me stop. He was scary, my old man. Not like Danno. I’m sure Danno knows how to stop a tantrum. I'm sure he knows how to avoid one altogether. You still breathing down there?"</p><p>Charlie's screams had turned into sobs as he gasped for air and still cried out in between them. He lifted his head to splutter and cry that it wasn't fair. Steve ran a hand through his hair gently.</p><p>"It is fair bud-"</p><p><em>"No</em> <em>it's not!"</em></p><p>"It is. Because we've had the TV all day and Gracie hasn't, so it's Grace's turn. You have to take turns and share things, that's what makes things fair."</p><p>"But I want to watch cartoons!"</p><p>"Well let Grace watch her show, and after dinner, when she's doing her homework, you can watch your cartoons, okay?"</p><p>"But I wanna watch cartoons now!"</p><p>"That's not how it works Charlie. You have to share."</p><p>Charlie didn’t reply other than to let out a long and sulky whine and stamp his feet into the grass. Steve sighed. At least he had stopped screaming.</p><p>"I'm gonna go and cook dinner, you can stay out here if you want to okay?"</p><p>Still there was no response. </p><p>"Okay. Come find me if you need me."</p><p>Steve paused on the lalani to glance back at Charlie. He couldn't really go far if he decided to run away, and Steve didn't think he actually would, but he couldn't help feeling concerned. If he went inside and Charlie ran, and Steve had to call out Five-O, Danny would find out, and Danny would be furious and none of them would ever let him forget it.</p><p>But he had to eat!</p><p>Grace didn’t even glance from her phone as Steve passed. She wasn’t even looking at the TV. Steve bit his lip. He couldn’t say anything. It was not worth another argument. </p><p>"Burgers okay with you?" He asked.</p><p>Grace just hummed in confirmation. She had a cookie in her mouth already. Steve just nodded. He headed into the kitchen and sighed heavily. Maybe he didn't have this whole parenting things under wraps after all.</p><p>Grace tapped her reply message to Rachel at least six times before deleting it. </p><p>
  <em>Everything good? Danno looking after you okay? </em>
</p><p>She wasn't really sure how to reply. She had no idea if her mother knew Steve was looking after her or not and if she said too much she could get Danny into trouble. She chewed her cookie thoughtfully. It was too hard to think. </p><p>"Grace, dinner. Get Charlie out of the garden would ya?" He called.</p><p>Grace slid away from the couch. She opened the back door, and stopped to watch Charlie swinging a stick around his head like a lightsabre.</p><p>"Charlie! Food!" She called.</p><p>He looked up. "I'm not hungry!"</p><p>"You gotta eat dinner Charlie," She called back.</p><p>"I'm not hungry!" He insisted. </p><p>"He says he's not hungry," she said, as she took her seat at the table. </p><p>Steve went out to question him. After a lot of going back and forth, it was agreed that Charlie would eat one burger and get a cookie for dessert. Grace ate three burgers, and groaned at the weight of her stomach afterwards. Charlie groaned louder.</p><p>"Uncle Steve I feel sick," he complained.</p><p>"You do? But you haven't even had your cookie yet," Steve said.</p><p>Charlie groaned. "I don’t feel well."</p><p>Steve’s face fell. "Not even well enough for a cookie?"</p><p>Charlie shook his head and whined. Steve felt a bolt of alarm through him.</p><p>"Dyou wanna go lie down in front of the telly?" He asked.</p><p>Charlie didn’t answer. He just quietly slunk away, and laid across the couch. Steve drummed his fingers into the table anxiously. Grace was less concerned. </p><p>"I'll have his cookie," she said.</p><p>"Dyou think he’s sick Grace? Like, call Danny sick?" Steve asked.</p><p>Grace twisted in her chair to look at him. She shrugged, "Maybe? How many cookies has he eaten today?"</p><p>"Um..." Steve's mind trailed back to what Charlie had eaten today. At least four baked cookies, a banana sandwich, a KitKat, and a full burger. Plus a lot of running around. As stupid as that made him feel, it did fill him with relief. "Yeah, okay, he's probably not sick."</p><p>Grace said nothing. She figured that if she kept quiet she could probably steal the last two cookies without being noticed. Especially if his attention was on Charlie.</p><p>When he went over to check on him, Charlie was already asleep. Steve frowned. He checked a missed message from Danny on his phone. </p><p><em>since he’s not in day care, remember Charlie needs a nap</em>.</p><p>"Aw shit."</p><p>Grace bit into the cookie as she watched Steve scoop Charlie up and carry him up the stairs to bed. Her thumb tapped thoughtfully on her phone. She didn’t want to get Danny into trouble, and she wanted to see how this was going to play out. The message wrote itself. </p><p>
  <em>we're all good. Being taken care of. Love you.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Day 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Four AM. It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that Steve would be up this early - especially if things were playing on his mind - but no matter what Danny thought, he didn’t actively choose to be. But then again, it had been his fault that Charlie had missed his nap and slept early and now he was awake early. It should have been expected. </p><p>As should have been the bouncing on his bed.</p><p>"Charlie, buddy, Charlie man, please stop," he urged.</p><p>Charlie jumped into the air and dropped down onto his knees. Steve grunted as the knees hit his hip. Charlie didn't noticed.</p><p>"What's for breakfast uncle Steve?" He cried.</p><p>Steve groaned. He reached up and tugged Charlie down to lay across his chest. Charlie dropped straight down on top of him, pinning him down. He grunted. Steve tugged Charlie into a more comfortable position beside him.</p><p>"Breakfast comes later," he yawned.</p><p>"But I'm awake now! I want food now!" Charlie whined.</p><p>"It's four in the morning kiddo," Steve sighed.</p><p>"So?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"Good point..." Steve blinked slowly as he tried to think of an answer. His eyes didn’t quite open again. "Tell you what, why don't we do some exercise and see if that tires you out?"</p><p>"Okay," Charlie shrugged.</p><p>Steve groaned. He wasn’t thrilled that the kid agreed. Really he wanted a little more time in bed to prepare for the day. Today, he decided, he would ensure Charlie got his nap.</p><p>"Let's go for a jog then first, okay?" Steve asked.</p><p>"Okay!" Charlie grinned.</p><p>Steve sighed. He peeled his eyes open and allowed them to adjust to the darkness. Usually he'd reach for his bedside lamp to take the edge off the darkness, but he had given that to Grace. All he had to see by was the dawn trickling in through the gaps in his blinds, and the soft glow of his phone informing him it was fully charged. </p><p>There had been days where he had woken up to worse. </p><p>To gunfire overhead. To bombs so close the shockwave rattled his bones. To his friends screaming bloody murder because their skin was dissolving from chemical attack. Days when Steve had to bolt awake, covered head to toe in dried blood, sand and sweat in full camouflage and heavy body armour, ready to fight or die from the moment his eyes opened. </p><p>Compared to those days, waking up as the yellow sun drizzled over the rippling ankle biting waves, breathing in the crisp salty air, with an excited toddler hanging off of his arm was heaven. Even if it was early than he would have liked.</p><p>Steve hesitated as he shut the kitchen door behind him. He didn't like exercising with his keys, but he didn't think it was safe to let Grace sleep alone in an unlocked house. The chances were that she'd be safe, but there was still a risk. If anything happened...</p><p>"Hey Charlie- Charlie?!" </p><p>Steve's chest tightened when he realised the boy wasn’t beside him anymore. Charlie was barefoot and still in his pyjamas as he took off across the garden. Dew had sprinkled itself across the grass, making the soil cold and muddy. Charlie yelped in surprise, and then giggled eagerly as he felt the dirt squish between his toes. He was practically squealing with laughter as the early sea breeze ruffled through his hair. Charlie raced across the cool soft sand to the water's edge, and gasped in wonder.</p><p>It was endless.</p><p>The ocean was as wide as it was long, and he could only seen shades of blue at the horizon. Just before it, a pod of dolphins were leaping elegantly through the waves, spinning as they crashed back down to wake up their friends to join in. If he listened really hard, he could just about hear the splashes on the breeze. At least he thought he could. Everything else seemed so quiet. The water shimmered, vivid and clear in the fresh sunlight. The sun was tired and weak, and stunningly yellow. Everything it brushed against as it rose was warmed by it's gentleness. </p><p>An errant wave lapped at his toes. It was chilled, but not unpleasant. Charlie giggled as he took a step closer and the water pooled around his ankles.<br/>He had never been outside so early in the morning before. It was like a whole different world.</p><p>Steve glanced back at the house as he caught up with the boy. As long as they didn't go far they could be back the moment he was needed. And if Charlie was out here being noisy, Grace could carry on sleeping for a little longer. </p><p>"You ready to jog bud?" Steve asked.</p><p>Charlie had been so wonderstruck by the scene before him he had completely forgotten about why they were actually here. Already he was covered in mud and sand and most of the island was still asleep around him.</p><p>"Alright, we won't go far, but you need to stay close to me okay bud? I need to know where you are at all times," Steve said, seriously. </p><p>Charlie nodded. Steve dared to believe him. He started to jog at a careful pace across the sand. Charlie took off like a tornado and raced as fast as his legs could carry him. Steve chuckled as he watched him go. The kid was a bundle of energy right from the moment he opened his eyes. It was no wonder Danny was always so tired after looking after him. </p><p>Steve called Charlie back when he went further than Steve was comfortable with, and Charlie obediently stopped. Instead of coming back though, he took a couple of steps forward, noticed something in the sand, and dropped to his knees. Suddenly his head jolted. He skidded as he scrambled back to his feet, and he darted across the sand a little further before  stumbling again. Steve hurried over to him.</p><p>"Hey, you okay? What happened?" He asked urgently.</p><p>"There was something in the sand! It had these big eyes like this-" Charlie put his hands on either side of his head and raised his index fingers like eyestalks, "but when I tried to look at it it ran away super fast across the sand and I lost it! It was here though, I swear!"</p><p>Charlie sounded so desperate to be believed that Steve snorted. He had absolutely no proof that he was telling the truth and yet Steve didn’t doubt him for a second.</p><p>"I believe you bud. It was probably a ghost crab," he said.</p><p>Charlie's eyes widened. "A ghost crab? Crabs can have ghosts What else has a ghost? Do dogs? Do dinosaurs?!"</p><p>"Um, I don’t know, maybe," Steve said. If they did, it would make trips to the natural history museum far more interesting. "But a ghost crab isn’t a <em>ghost</em> crab, its a crab. A living crab. I've said ghost and crab too many times and now they don’t sounds right anymore. Ghost crab. <em>G</em><em>host</em> crab. G<em>host</em> cra-<em>ab-"</em></p><p>"What are you doing?" Charlie frowned.</p><p>"Hmm? Nothing. Sorry. Um... yeah you probably saw a crab. They live underneath the sand and they clean up the beach by eating anything they find," Steve explained.</p><p>Charlie looked back down at the sand and tilted his head. "Like plastic?"</p><p>"I guess," Steve nodded.</p><p>"Is that why Gracie's so upset about plastic in the ocean? Because the crabs try to eat it?" Charlie asked.</p><p>Steve nodded. "Not just crabs, everything in the ocean is eating plastic."</p><p>"Even shrimp?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"Even shrimp," Steve nodded.</p><p>"So Kamekona eats plastic?" Charlie asked.</p><p>Steve snorted, "Why don’t you ask him that sometime? Let's see what he says."</p><p>Charlie blinked, and looked back down at the sand. "Can I catch the ghost crab Uncle Steve?"</p><p>"No my little Ghostbuster, I'm sorry but you can't," Steve patted his shoulder gently. "They're wild, they have to stay out here on the beach."</p><p>"Please uncle Steve?" Charlie pouted.</p><p>Steve's chest ached. He always found it hard to resist Charlie's puppy dog eyes. Instead he promised, "I tell you what, if when Danno comes home he says yes then I'll help you find one, but we gotta wait to ask him because he's sleeping right now."</p><p>"Okay. Bye bye Mr ghost crab," Charlie waved to the sand. </p><p>Steve chuckled to himself as he helped the boy to his feet. He really was adorable when he wanted to be. Just like Danny. And just like Steve he had managed to get himself dirty before the sun was even fully in the sky.</p><p>"Look at your pyjama bottoms, they're filthy. I need to do some laundry," he sighed. "You look like a sugar cookie."</p><p>Given the previous conversations he had had with his uncle he was suspicious at the mention of biscuits. He had a feeling that Steve didn’t mean cookie at all. He was right. Mostly. </p><p>"I just mean you’re sandy," Steve agreed.</p><p>"Why can't you just say that?! Just call things things?! Why all the code names?!" Charlie huffed, but then he paused. His face turned very serious. "You're not a super ninja spy are you?"</p><p>Steve considered his options. Telling Charlie about his time in the navy and how much time he spent as a sugar cookie seemed like the smartest option. But changing the subject and leaving a little bit of mystery in Charlie's hands seemed more fun.</p><p>"You can't go to day-care like this, it will be very uncomfortable and it would be unfair of me to make you carry on your day like that," Steve explained, seriously.</p><p>He knew that from painful experience. Not just from sugar cookies either, but from multiple beach experiences growing up - and jumping into a sand grinder to catch a perp not very long ago - which had brought all those sandy memories back. He didn't want to be the one who made Charlie wriggle all day because he had sand in uncomfortable places. </p><p>"C'mon, let's get you into a shower."</p><p>The water in the shower was warm. It fogged up the glass quickly. Even so Charlie was hesitant to get in. He didn't like getting his face wet. When Steve eventually coaxed him in, Charlie's hair foamed up. Steve's stomach twisted as he suddenly remembered the shampoo that had been left to dry in Charlie's hair two nights ago. He had assumed it was just getting greasy.</p><p>"Oh God," Steve groaned to himself. </p><p>"What?" Charlie frowned.</p><p>"Nothing. It's not important, don't worry," Steve assured him.</p><p>He was going to need a lot of conditioner to fix this. Fortunately he had Danny's special softening conditioner for damaged hair hidden in a cupboard. Given how much Charlie hated his face getting wet, he wasn’t sure how he was going to manage it. Not until Charlie held out a hand.</p><p>"Towel."</p><p>"No you’re not getting out yet-"</p><p>"For my face. Mommy gives me a towel to my face doesn’t get wet when she rinses my hair."</p><p>"Good idea!"</p><p>It worked too. Mostly. Steve worked the shampoo out of Charlie's hair along with the sand and grime that had settled on top of it, and worked in the conditioner. He attempted to cover as many individuals stands as he could to ensure that all of Charlie's hair felt as soft as it was supposed to again. Danny would be none the wiser. Charlie stepped out of the shower free of all sand and shampoo, smelling faintly of sandalwood and tea tree oil. He dropped the sodden towel on the floor and ran, butt naked through the house, giggling maniacally and leaving a trial of wet footprints behind him.</p><p>Steve wasn't really sure what to do about that.<br/>He scooped up the towels and the boys clothes and dumped them onto the laundry basket. Grace had left her clothes in there already, so it was quickly filling up. It would have to be dealt with soon. He also stopped to clean up the footprints as Charlie continued to run through the house, air drying.<br/>It wasn't worth arguing really. Charlie was deeply amused by his own nudity and ran like an imp in a fairy-tale when Steve got near enough to put on clothes.</p><p>By the time Grace had decided she was definitely not going to get anymore sleep today with this noise, Steve had given up trying. She opened her bedroom door just in time to see her naked brother shoot past.</p><p><em>"CHARLIE!</em> PUT YOUR UNDERWEAR ON! YOU'RE A CHILD NOT AN ANIMAL!" </p><p>The bark had just fallen out of her. It was instinctively. Steve blinked in surprise to hear it. She sounded so much like Danny that it was unbelievable. Of course it shouldn’t have been. Hell, at times Steve found himself sounding like Danny and Grace had known him much longer than he did. But to hear it from her, to witness it, it was always a surprise. </p><p>Especially since it was effective too. Charlie skidded to a halt when she shouted. He turned around to face her, she scowled and he blushed. Charlie darted into his room and found himself some underwear to yank on. Then he continued running around the house.<br/>Grace rolled her eyes and headed for the shower. She could only do so much, and at least now the important bits were covered.</p><p>Rachel always said you had to pick your battles.</p><p>"She's scary," Charlie whispered to Steve, like it was a huge secret.</p><p>The idea of ever facing down Grace was not one that Steve liked to dwell on. He had seen her take on people twice her size and win. The girl's words could shame you in an instant, and she wasn’t afraid to do so. She had the intelligence and the empathy to take on her friends and stand up for people she hardly knew. And having seen her practicing Auntie Kono's self defence lessons, she had the skills to back it up. <br/>So yes. Grace was scary. </p><p>Steve smiled back, "at least she's on our side."</p><p>While she was in the shower and Charlie stood still for a moment, Steve took the opportunity to grab him. He scooped up Charlie. Charlie squealed again as Steve tossed him up over one shoulder.</p><p>"Where are your clean clothes?" He asked.</p><p>"I don't have clothes! I'm a monkey!" Charlie cried. </p><p>"You are huh? But monkey's live in trees!" Steve teased.</p><p>Charlie folded his arms under his chin as he hung upside down over Steve's shoulder, "I could live in a tree!"</p><p>Steve chuckled. He heaved Charlie up and dropped him onto the bed so he bounced. Charlie giggled again as he bounced.</p><p>"Have I ever told you about when I used to live in a treehouse?" Steve asked.</p><p>He knew he hadn't. He hadn't really thought about it in years. He just needed Charlie to stay sitting down while he found a clean shirt. It worked.</p><p>"A treehouse?" Charlie gasped </p><p>"Oh yeah, I lived in a big old treehouse, right at the top of a big leafy tree. It was terrible. I had a woodpecker nesting in my living room," Steve said.</p><p>"A woodpecker?!" Charlie gasped again, wonderful. </p><p>"Yeah! Arms up," Steve said.</p><p>Charlie raised his hands above his head without thinking about it. "Were there any monkeys?!"</p><p>"Um, no, not that I remember. They tried to avoid us because we were noisy," Steve explained.</p><p>"Wow!" Charlie breathed.</p><p>He allowed Steve to tug a shirt over his head without fighting. Steve chuckled again at how easily he got himself distracted. </p><p>"I tell you what I did see though. I saw a <em>tiger!"</em> Steve grinned.</p><p>"<em>A tiger</em>?! Did it eat you?!" Charlie asked eagerly.</p><p>"Did it eat me? No it didn’t eat me, you think I got eaten by a tiger and survived to stand here today, looking for your shorts huh?" Steve scoffed.</p><p>"Maybe! Tigers steal food from bears, I bet one could kill you," Charlie said.</p><p>Steve rooted through Charlie's bag to find a change of bottoms for the kid. "You saying I'm as tough as a bear?"</p><p>Charlie hummed quietly as he thought. "I think you could fight a bear."</p><p>"Thanks Charlie, that's nice. I think," Steve said.</p><p>"Unless he bit your head off first. Which is possible. They can rip off an adult human's head with one swipe of a paw y’know. At least a polar bear can," Charlie continued. </p><p>Steve paused. He licked his lips. "Right..."</p><p>"So maybe you wouldn't survive against a bear. But you already did survive a tiger!" Charlie grinned. </p><p>"I survived <em>two,"</em> Steve corrected as he finally found shorts at the bottom of the bag. They were bright red, but Charlie's shirt was bright blue so it evened out. </p><p>"What?!" Charlie cried.</p><p>"Yeah, one was in the branches near by treehouse, and the other was in India. It got killed by a boar," Steve explained. </p><p>"Like the ones in the jungle?!" Charlie beamed eagerly.</p><p>"Just like the ones in the jungle, they could kill a tiger too if we had tigers in Hawaii," Steve nodded.</p><p>"But we don’t right? Except in the zoo," Charlie said.</p><p>"Exactly right Charlie. No wild tigers in O'ahu," Steve said.</p><p>He knelt down to help tug Charlie's shorts up again properly. Charlie clung to his shoulder as he was lifted free from the ground.</p><p>"Just in the jungle?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"Just in the jungle," Steve agreed. </p><p>"Where you lived in a treehouse?"</p><p>"Where I lived in a treehouse."</p><p>"Was it while you were being a super secret ninja spy?"</p><p>"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."</p><p>Charlie frowned at him suspiciously. Steve kept his face as solid as he could, but he couldn't help the sparkle in his eyes. It took Charlie a moment or two to come to a conclusion, but he hummed when he did.</p><p>"You didn’t really live in a tree did you uncle Steve?" He asked cautiously. </p><p>Steve thought back to the long hot days and loud rainy nights hidden away in the jungle treetops, underneath mosquito netting with Catherine. Back then it felt like they were playing house. Like they could one day come home and live like this full time. That was a lifetime ago now. Fleeting days, and memorable nights destroyed by a hail of bullets. No one would ever know what they had done there. They were never supposed to. As far as the rest of the world was concerned, that treehouse that made up a wild tree top paradise, never existed. </p><p>"No little monkey. I didn't."</p><p>Charlie grinned at him. Then Steve's phone beeped. In his distraction, Charlie slipped off of the bed and darted out of the room again. Steve sighed a long drawn out sigh. He was never going to get that kid to put on shoes. </p><p>The message was from Lou. There was a robbery in Waianae. Nothing majorly life threatening but Five-0 had been called to the scene. His phone beeped again. </p><p>
  <em>Just to be clear this is just an update on our current workload since you’re technically on call. I do not expect you to turn up while the kids need you.</em>
</p><p>Steve smirked. Lou may have liked to pretend he was an grumpy old man, too grown to deal with this nonsense, but he cared more than he let on. That's why he had taken Tani under his wing so swiftly. Junior had thrust himself on Steve so Lou quietly stepped up for Tani. She paid them back by being there for Adam. Because that's how their ohana worked. Still, Steve was on call, and he was the boss, and he needed to be at the crime scene. Then his phone beeped again and Steve wondered just how predictable he had become.</p><p>
  <em>I said DON'T come. I've been a cop for decades, I can handle a little B&amp;E!</em>
</p><p>Lou was right of course. Even if he needed back up, Tani and Junior were both on the benches too. He could just call them over. Either one of them were more than capable of handling this. But they shouldn't have to handle it alone. </p><p>Steve felt a small ache in his stomach that throbbed with guilt. He didn't like leaving them to face dangers without him, but there was nothing more dangerous than Danny, especially if his kids were involved. </p><p>
  <strong>Fine but if you need me you call me IMMEDIATELY </strong>
</p><p>Steve could practically hear Lou scoffing at the other end of the phone, and he felt a little relieved. Lou was smart. Experienced. He could handle himself and the team. He wasn't going to call unless it was an unavoidable catastrophe. The offer was there though, if and when it was needed.</p><p>"Uncle Steve?"</p><p>Grace's voice came from the living room. He stood up and wandered back in to find her standing in clean clothes, her hair still twisted up in a towel on her head. She wasn’t looking at him, but she was piling fruit into his blender. </p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"There you are!" </p><p>"Don’t forget to put the lid on that," he warned wearily.</p><p>He was convinced there was still old dried out kelp stuck somewhere on his kitchen ceiling after last time Danny had attempted to make him a smoothie and forgot to check the lid. Steve himself may have been partly to blame. He distracted Danny with playful bickering over whether or not a smoothie counted as breakfast which made him forget to pay attention to the lid. Although he'd never dare admit that. Especially since even after showering and changing into new clothes, Danny still had stray specks of green in his hair that Max asked him about. That was <em>nothing</em> compared to the teasing from Chin and Kono about why Danny was wearing Steve's clothes, and why he smelt like Steve's shower gel.</p><p>"This isn’t my first smoothie uncle Steve," Grace scoffed, "Have you got a hairdryer?"</p><p>"He doesn't have hair to dry Grace!" Charlie snorted.</p><p>"I do! It's just short! It's a buzz cut- you'll understand when you’re older," Steve said.</p><p>Something about the phrase jogged a memory in Charlie's mind and he started humming Wouldn’t It Be Nice to himself as he watched Grace pour cream into the blender. His hands were folded on the table and his cheek was laying on them as he watched the blades patiently. </p><p>"I can't dry my hair without a hairdryer Uncle Steve. I can't go to school like this! It'll go frizzy when it dries and I won't have a brush!" Grace complained.</p><p>"Well I'm sorry but I don’t have a hair dryer. Feel free to take a brush with you though," Steve shrugged.</p><p>"Uncle Steve this is serious!" Grace whined.</p><p>There was a robbery victim in Waianae that would probably disagree with her on that.  </p><p>"Look, I'll swing by Danno's later and pick up his hairdryer, okay? But for now-" Steve began.</p><p>"Yes, exactly, now!" Grace declared.</p><p>Steve frowned. "Now? We can't go now."</p><p>"Why not? Danno's not there, he's in New Jersey, you've got a key, I know his alarm code- now!"</p><p>"We can't, it's like six am-"</p><p>"Exactly! There's plenty of time to get there, dry my hair, and still get to school!"</p><p>"You need breakfast-"</p><p>"Aloha? Smoothie?"</p><p>"I don't know-"</p><p><em>"please</em> Uncle Steve?! I don’t want to be frizzy haired today! I don’t want anyone to see that, I don’t want-"</p><p>Grace cut herself off. Her eyes bulged a little as she did. Whatever she had been about to say, she didn't want Steve to know. That only made Steve latch onto it harder.</p><p>"What's the end of that sentence Grace?" He asked.</p><p>Grace licked her lips nervously. Then she remembered something Kamekona had taught her while they were playing poker once. Information is a power source that only one person sets the price of, so always squeeze an opportunity for all its worth. Of course he had been talking about how only she knew what her hand was until it was set down, but it was a top tip from a criminal informant. They were useful.</p><p>She folded her arms and set her jaw sternly, mimicking Kamekona as best she could. "I'll tell you if you take me to Danno's."</p><p>Steve frowned. He had seen that look of hers somewhere else before a lot of times but he couldn’t quite place his finger on where. But if something was up at Grace's school, Steve had to uncover it. If it was bad, Danny had to know. This was a small price to pay for peace of mind.</p><p>"Fine, but only after I make your lunch. You can't survive on one smoothie all day, that's insane," he warned. </p><p>Grace grinned. She hadn’t expected to get her way so easily. Whenever she tried something like that with her parents they just reminded her that they controlled her screen time and she didn’t want to lose that. Charlie sat up eagerly and tugged her arm.</p><p>"Can I push the button Grace?" He asked.</p><p>"Go ahead," Grace shrugged.</p><p>Say what you want about the kid but Grace made a mean smoothie. It was like drinking a liquid fruit salad. Which, technically I guess it was. But with Charlie demanding he get to decide when the blades stopped whirling, and Grace straining it through a colander as she poured it into a bottle, it really was a smooth smoothie. That took the sting out of breaking into Danny's house while he wasn't there to argue. </p><p>"Be quick okay? We don't want to linger any more than we have to," Steve warned.</p><p>Charlie ran off towards his bedroom, eager to play with the toys he had left behind while Grace hunted down Danny's hairdryer. That left Steve alone in Danny's living room, with no risk of Danny checking up on him. The urge to snoop was instant. It was one he fought against. Danny was usually open with him about whatever was going on in his life, he didn’t want a simple case of curiosity damaging that. <br/>But then again he almost never got to see how Danny lived when he wasn't expecting visitors. </p><p>He was messier than he liked to pretend. Steve knew that anyway, he had trashed his house while he was away. Seeing it here though felt like a fond memory.<br/>Danny had tossed his tie across the back of a chair, and Steve could just imagine him wandering in from a long day at work and yanking off that tie. Why he still stubbornly wore it Steve would never understand beyond his idea that it was specifically to spite him.</p><p>He wasn't entirely wrong. There was a coaster with old built up rings left on it on the coffee table too, beside the scrunched up tissue. If the very faint scent of yeast was anything to go by, he could picture a scene. Danny, having just removed his tie, goes into the kitchen for a beer. He picks one up, wanders to the living room, collapses onto the couch, and manages to somehow shake the bottle. When he opens it, it spills upwards - or maybe it settles for a moment, just long enough to get set down on the table. That knock of being place down sends a shockwave vibrating through the beer's bubbles and it overflows onto the table. Danny cleans it up with the nearest thing, and sighs. A crappy end to a crappy day. He drinks the beer, dumps that in the bin, and heads to bed, forgetting the tissues as he does.<br/>Steve's shoulders sagged. It wasn't a particularly nice picture he was forming. Lonely. Even with the kids visiting, they only came for limited amounts of time.</p><p>Maybe that's why he spent so much time at Steve's with him. Even just the two of them wasn't alone. <br/>The mail that was usually stacked neatly on the table by the door was sprawled across the coffee table like it had been tossed aside without much care. Steve wondered if he should bring the mail in for him while he was there. He wasn't entirely sure if he should give Danny any clue that he had been there at all. It was a mild invasion of privacy after all. Danny didn't like people to see how much mess he lived in when left to his own devices.</p><p>That also made Steve feel... </p><p>He couldn’t put his finger on what. Disappointed maybe? Guilty? He wasn't sure. But there was a sense that Danny was hiding parts of himself away, parts that he was ashamed of, and Steve didn't like that. He liked Danny. <em>All</em> of Danny. Messy bits included. Messy bits <em>especially.</em> He didn't like that they were hidden from him.</p><p>Everyone saw the man who kept a comb in his car in case his hair got messed up and ironed his shirt collar so that his tie strands were neatly hidden away. Everyone saw the tidy, well kept, professional Danny. But this dirty little secret was only known by the important people in his life. His kids and maybe Rachel. Steve was fairly certain that if he only got glimpses of it then Danny would work extra hard to ensure his girlfriends didn't see it.</p><p>And just that thought was enough to perk him up again.</p><p>Even if Danny wasn’t <em>open</em> about his messy side, Steve at least knew he had one. That meant Danny was more comfortable sharing things with him than most people. </p><p>"Have you found that hairdryer yet?" Steve called.</p><p>Grace frowned too herself. She had already been using the hairdryer for a while when he shouted. She finished up quickly and bounced off of Danny's bed to head for the mirror, stepping over the piles of dirty clothes dropped on the floor as she went. Danny kept a comb tucked on the top of the mirror frame. If she hopped on her tiptoes she could just about reach it.</p><p>"Gracie - <em>w</em><em>hoa..."</em> </p><p>Grace glanced over at Steve, and gave him a puzzled look as he stared around the room. She glanced towards the room to see what he was looking at. All she saw was Danno's bedroom. </p><p>What Steve saw was Danny's mess. Well that wasn't <em>all</em> he saw. He saw what was behind the mess. This was Danny's sanctuary. The place where he was safest. His bed was right there, unmade like he'd just rolled out of it. You don't sleep somewhere you don't trust. This was somewhere people weren't supposed to see, somewhere <em>Steve</em> wasn't supposed to see, let alone be in. </p><p>Just being here felt like he was seeing something he shouldn't. Like walking in on someone in the shower. Danny wasn’t even there to defend himself from the vulnerability. It felt questionable to even be here. </p><p>"Uncle Steve? Did you want something?" Grace asked.</p><p>"Huh?" Steve blinked at her like he had forgotten why there were here.</p><p>Grace lifted the hairdryer in her hand. "I’ve decided to take it back with us. Realistically I’m going to need it again this week so-"</p><p>"Fine, fine," Steve nodded, "I get it, you don't like frizzy hair. I mean personally I think you look cute with a little extra fuzz-"</p><p>"No way!" Grace scowled, "Danno says you need to dress the way you want to be seen, which is why he always wears ties. I don't want to be seen as frizzy haired. It's hard enough to control it at home, at school it would be impossible!"</p><p>Steve frowned. He was beginning to feel a little out of his depth. "Grace I would like to say something very grown up and very serious here about it not mattering what you look like on the outside because what's inside is what matters, but I'm not really sure how to do that without sounding like an after school special. Really, I just want to make sure you know you don’t need to look special to be special. You already are."</p><p>"I know. But I'd still feel better if my hair was under control," Grace said, seriously. </p><p>Steve bit back a grin, "Y’know you could always get a buzz cut-"</p><p>"Not a chance."</p><p>"Ah fine. You'll look cute whatever you decide to do. Not that that matters because it's what's inside-"</p><p>"You could just stop talking."</p><p>"I could couldn't I? Y'know what would stop me?"</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"That sentence you promised to finish."</p><p>Grace was the picture of innocence all of a sudden, "Sentence?" </p><p>"Who could possibly be so important that you don’t want them to see you with frizzy hair?" Steve asked, folding his arms across his chest stubbornly. </p><p>Grace's shoulders sagged. She didn't want to tell him, but she was a woman of her word. She didn’t have a choice. Grace hung her head as she sighed. </p><p>"His name is Cooper. He said Danno calls me monkey because my hair frizzes up. That's not true, but now he calls me monkey when my hair gets wet and-"</p><p>"So he's bullying you?" Steve frowned seriously. </p><p>"No, no, he's teasing. It's only a joke. I just..." Grace trailed off.</p><p>She knew he was playing. Usually he was fun to muck around with too, he was funny. But she didn't like people calling her monkey. Only Danno did that. </p><p>"Babe if you don’t like it, don’t let him do it," Steve said gently.</p><p>"I've tried asking but he thinks its funny," Grace shrugged.</p><p>Steve took an instant disliking to the boy. He leaned back to sit on the bed behind her. </p><p>"Okay, so here's what you do-" he began.</p><p>"I don't want to break his teeth Uncle Steve, he’s actually a nice guy, he’s just..." Grace trailed off again.</p><p>"I'm not gonna say break his teeth sweetie. I was <em>thinking</em> it, but I didn’t <em>say</em> it. I think you should warn him," Steve said, in a gentle but serious tone.</p><p>Grace frowned at his reflection before turning to face him. This didn’t sound like the uncle she had grown to love.</p><p>"Warn him?" She repeated. </p><p>"Yeah. Be logical. Tell him straight up that you don’t like it and you want him to stop and if he doesn't you'll break his teeth. Then if he doesn't stop, remind him that you warned him and that this is his <em>final</em> warning. Then if he still doesn’t stop?"</p><p>"Break his teeth?"</p><p>"That's my girl!"</p><p>Steve grinned proudly as she rolled her eyes and tried to hide her smile. She lifted the hairdryer again.</p><p>"I'm taking this," she said.</p><p>"Okay," Steve said. He flicked the comb in her hand, "take this too."</p><p>She grinned back as his hand ran down her hair and he nudged her towards the door. It was about time they were leaving.</p><p>"Charlie c'mon, let's go," Steve called.</p><p>Charlie scrambled down from his room, clutching onto his fire truck toy as he went. He lifted it up to Steve.</p><p>"Can I bring this?" He asked keenly. </p><p>"Sure, it's yours after all," Steve shrugged. </p><p>He patched in the security code as he left. It was 11269. The first time the Jets won the super bowl. Danny wasn’t as slick as he thought he was. </p><p>They drove to Grace's school to drop her off early. He reminded her to talk to Cooper before fighting him. She reminded him to make sure to do the laundry because she was running out of clothes. Steve asked why she didn’t pick up more while at Danny's. Grace just shrugged and said she didn't think about it. Steve rolled his eyes. He made a mental note to start the laundry when he got in.</p><p>At which point Charlie was bouncing off of the walls and Steve suddenly realized that he had no idea what to do with a toddler that didn’t want to sit in front of the TV. </p><p>"I'm bo-o-o-ored!" Charlie whined.</p><p>He draped himself backwards over the arm of the couch like a diva over a piano. Steve put his hands on his hips.</p><p>"Uh, what'd you wanna do bud?"  He asked. </p><p>Charlie gave an upside down shrug. "I dunno."</p><p>"Wanna help me do laundry?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Wanna quietly read a book while I do laundry?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"I thought that'd be too much to ask for."</p><p>Steve sighed. He wasn't entirely sure what to do to keep Charlie entertained. Toddlers were not his specialist subject. Keeping him busy and safe while Steve tried tidying up the mess around them was something he couldn't think to do. </p><p>"Alright, I got it, wanna learn about the ghost crab?" Steve asked.</p><p>Charlie say up eagerly, "Can we catch one?"</p><p>Probably not. "We can try!"</p><p>"Okay!"</p><p>"But change back into your pyjamas first. They're already dirty, we might as well keep these clothes clean."</p><p>Charlie was delighted to be on the beach. He adored the sea. Steve loved to see it. It was like watching himself as a toddler up to his shins in sand, pretending to be sinking. Steve lounged across the sand  with his knees up and talked him through how to survive. Laying down and spreading his weight out so he could float. </p><p>A message came through while Charlie was safely trapped in his imaginary sinking sand. Danny's daily check in. </p><p>
  <em>How's my boy doing?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Charlie's fine, look </strong>
</p><p>"Charlie, come here a sec," Steve called </p><p>"But I'm trapped!"</p><p>"Let's take a selfie for Danno."</p><p>"Okay!"</p><p>Charlie found himself magically unstuck in the sand and ran over to Steve. He sat on his knee as Steve pulled him in and raised the phone. Charlie poked out his tongue and Steve laughed and copied.</p><p>Danny's phone buzzed to tell him he a photo to view. His heart melted to see Charlie on Steve's knee, both of them crowding together, with their tongues out. Steve was a goof, but it was endearing. He was about to point out that he had actually been asking about Steve when he noticed something odd.</p><p>
  <em>why's he still in pyjamas?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>reducing laundry. They’re already dirty.</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>don't let him play in the sea. </em>
</p><p><strong>I'm a SEAL Danno, I'm a good lifeguard</strong> </p><p><em>even you can't fight an undertow super SEAL</em>.</p><p>Steve winced. He had forgotten why Danny didn't like the water. Of course he didn't want Charlie playing in it. He wouldn't have Charlie anywhere near it if he had a choice, but Charlie took after his uncle. He fell in love with the sea the moment he saw it.</p><p>
  <strong>I'll keep the kids safe Danno. </strong>
</p><p>Danny winced. He hadn't meant to imply that he didn't trust Steve to keep them safe. If he thought that he'd never have left. He just couldn't stand the idea of Charlie being in danger. </p><p><em> i know. I trust you</em>.  </p><p>Steve felt a swell of pride in his chest. He wasn't sure Danny could fully trust anyone (perks of being a cop) but he knew Steve had his back and he trusted him with his kids. It was an honour really. It delighted him. </p><p>
  <em>don't forget day care. Tell Charlie Danno loves him</em>
</p><p>Oh shit. Day care. If he rinsed the kid off in the outdoor shower- where was he? </p><p>Steve glanced around as his heart rose into his throat. He had only looked away long enough to read his texts, but he knew better than most that it only took a second to lose someone forever. </p><p>"Charlie?!" </p><p>The panic was already in his voice as he called for him. He had no idea what he would do if anything happened to Charlie. The idea of it made him physically sick. Not to mention what Danny would do to him if he found out.</p><p>
  <em>"Charlie?!"</em>
</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"Charlie!" </p><p>Relief flooded through Steve as he scooped the boy up into his arms and tugged him tight against his chest. Charlie was baffled but he hugged him back. </p><p>"Don't disappear like that! Isn’t that one of the outside rules? No being out of sight unless absolutely necessary?"</p><p>"Sorry dann- oh, uh, uncle Steve. I wanted my fireman."</p><p>It was then that Steve realised Charlie was holding onto his fire truck. He felt a little guilty for not noticing earlier and worrying Charlie. </p><p>"It's okay. I was just worried is all... We need to get ready for day-care," he said.</p><p>To do that, he consulted with the expert, and pulled up Danny's instructions on his phone. He got Charlie rinsed off - avoiding his hair altogether as he did - dressed him up again, found his shoes, and scooped him up to carry him to the car. Charlie complained about being strapped in and Steve briefly considered telling him the same in-depth explanation as to how car crash injuries affect your body if you don't wear a seat belt that he gave Grace once. But Grace was a lot older than Charlie was right now. He decided against it and just outlined the idea of being hurt and not being safe.</p><p>Steve wasn't certain what to expect when he dropped Charlie off. Mostly he was just pleased he had finally managed to get shoes on the kid. He had been expecting to leave Charlie in their care and head back home to start tidying up. He didn't exact to have to fill out paperwork.</p><p>"How much sleep did he get?"</p><p>Oh now that was a tricky question. Technically he had slept like a baby. Just until four am. If Danny found this out he would be furious. Kids need their sleep after all. Steve tapped his pen quietly on his clipboard as he glanced at Charlie.</p><p>"Is uh, is this confidential?" He asked. </p><p>"Of course," the receptionist said.</p><p>That wasn't fully convincing but the staff here deserved the truth. Charlie might be ratty today and they should know why. </p><p>Steve walked Charlie to the gate and hugged him to his leg.</p><p>"Bye bye bud," he said.</p><p>"Bye uncle Steve," Charlie said.</p><p>"See you soon okay?" Steve asked.</p><p>He opened the gate for Charlie to walk into the kids area as he did. As soon as the gate opened one of his friends gasped in delight.</p><p>"CHARLIE!" </p><p>Charlie straightened up when he saw his friend call out to him. In an instant, Steve was forgotten. Charlie went dashing off to her, straight into a huge hug. It was cute to see him welcomed back so affectionately. Mostly. Part of Steve was a little disappointed at how easily Charlie ran off without him. He didn't even seem to notice. </p><p>"It gets easier." </p><p>Steve glanced up at the receptionist. She smiled knowingly as she patted his arm. Steve hadn't realised just how obvious his expression was. The nervousness. The idea of leaving Charlie here alone didn't sit comfortably with him. She just chuckled.</p><p>"It does," she promised. "When you start to see how happy they are here, it makes it easier to let go. Especially on Monday. Then you finally get a rest from weekend tantrums!"</p><p>"I don't - I don't tend to have them on the weekend," Steve admitted.</p><p>She tilted her head curiously. "No? You're Steve right? Detective William's partner?"</p><p>"Yeah," Steve answered without thinking.</p><p>She gave a satisfied nod with a slightly smug smirk. Steve was used to people mistaking the term partner for romantic between them, but when he wasn’t thinking he forgot to correct them. That, and the way his eye still hadn't left Charlie even though he hadn’t looked back at him once - he was too busy showing off his fire truck to his friends - cemented the idea in her head. Steve was new to parenthood, and nervous. She had seen it before. It was always amusing and slightly endearing. </p><p>"Charlie's always talking about spending time with Danno and Uncle Steve over the weekend. Last I heard you took him to the zoo and taught him monkey bars, right?" She said.</p><p>"Well, I mean, yeah, kind of..." he muttered.</p><p>They had gotten there late. Really late. In fact they only had two hours before the zoo shut when they arrived. A case had run long but Danny had promised to take Charlie to the zoo and Steve wasn’t about to let him break that promise. They hadn’t seen the monkeys, but Steve put Charlie on his shoulders and helped him across the monkey bars. Then he went across them himself to show off to Charlie (and stopped to do a few pull ups to show off to Danny, who pretended not to be impressed) and Charlie had just grinned. He fell asleep on the ride home and Danny carried him inside to tuck him into bed.</p><p>It was a good night.</p><p>One Steve hadn’t thought about since. </p><p>The receptionist gave a long hum that was full of amusement. She could see the slight smile just remembering the good times brought to Steve. She was satisfied that he was going to be a good father to Charlie. Danny had picked a real winner this time.</p><p>"Charlie loves you. Believe me," she promised.</p><p>Steve smiled at her warmly. He had never doubted for a second that he loved Charlie, and the feeling was mutual, but to actually hear it said reaffirmed it. </p><p>"Mahalo."</p><p>She nodded kindly and patted his arm again before moving away. Steve looked back at Charlie one last time. He had given the toy to a friend and she was rolling it across the table while he made siren noises. She told him he was doing them wrong.</p><p>"Well my dads got a siren in their car so I know!" He argued.</p><p>Steve smirked. Of course Danny's son was argumentative. Just like a mini him. Adorable and frustrating. Steve felt a rush of affection for the pair of them. He slipped away quietly, leaving the kids as their compared their attempts at siren noises. At least they were enjoying themselves.</p><p>Steve looked around the house and let out a long, deep exhale. The realisation that asking the kids to put their plates in the kitchen for him to wash up later, and then not washing them up, was a mistake. He had fully intended to wash up, but after checking the room for monsters so Charlie could sleep and making sure that Grace really had brushed her teeth, he was tired. </p><p>Right now he was even more tired.</p><p>He was getting too old to go a full day on five hours sleep. But he had laundry to do and a house to tidy up. He also wanted to check in with Lou and make sure the case was going okay without him. Then Charlie had to be picked up, and Grace had some club after school - tennis or cheerleading practice or something, he couldn't remember. It wasn't like he could just lie down on the couch and have a nap for three hours. He had things to do. Important things. They had to be done while he had the time, and right now, he had time. </p><p>...</p><p>Steve winced at the light as he dragged his eyes open. His phone had fallen to the floor, and now it was ringing loudly. Steve groaned. He could already feel the ache in his shoulder blades from sleeping on the couch. He should have known better. He yawned as he answered the phone, and didn’t fight the rough tiredness in his voice. </p><p>"Hello?" </p><p>"Hey Steve, why did I just get a phone call from Rachel asking why Charlie hasn't been picked up from day care?" Danny asked. </p><p>Steve sat up urgently, <em>"Fuck!</em> I'm sorry, I fell asleep-"</p><p>"You fell asleep?" Danny was torn between being furious and being amused.</p><p>"That's not an excuse, it's an apology."</p><p>"You fell asleep? Commander Super SEAL needed a nap? What are you an old man?!"</p><p>"Isn’t it like eight pm over there? Are you really giving up valuable relaxation time to yell at me?"</p><p>"Relaxation time? Like you know the meaning of relaxation!"</p><p>"I know being at a trial you want to go well, hundreds of miles from home, away from your kids is stressful-"</p><p>"I'm not hundreds of miles from home Steve, I'm hundreds of miles away from my family, who you’re supposed to be looking after. Stop worrying about me and go and get my son!"</p><p>"Right-"</p><p>"And if Rachel asks, a case ran long."</p><p>"Got it. Lou's working on a break in right now!"</p><p>"Fantastic, my son was forgotten because some rich kid lost a laptop, that'll fix everything. If Rachel asks, it was life or death!"</p><p>Steve didn't bother to ask why he couldn't tell Rachel the truth. He was curious about it, but he knew Danny's tones and this was one you didn't argue with. </p><p>They were waiting in the doorway with Charlie when Steve arrived. He pulled into the nearest parking space and leapt out to hurry over.</p><p>"I am so sorry I'm late- Hey Charlie! Sorry I'm late bud-" he began. </p><p>"It's okay. Danno's always late," Charlie shrugged.</p><p>Steve arched an eyebrow. "He is huh?"</p><p>"Detective Williams has a stressful and demanding job. We try to implement a three strike rule- a third late pick up in a month results in a small fee for excess work load-" the carer explained. </p><p>Steve was in a rush and he didn't want to hear it. Especially since Danny had already been lecturing him on the way here. He had left his meal with old friends at his favourite Jersey diner to rant at Steve on loudspeaker as he drove.  And now he had found out that Danny was always late anyway. Typical. </p><p>"I'll bear that in mind, grab your truck, we gotta meet Grace at tennis," Steve said.</p><p>"Cheerleading," Charlie corrected. </p><p>"Right!" Steve agreed. </p><p>While Charlie went to find his fire truck, the carer stepped closer to Steve. He ignored her so he could keep an eye on Charlie. He really didn’t want to hear it.</p><p>"We moved nap time up so he could rest off his exhaustion-"</p><p>"Great idea, thanks."</p><p>"But we thought you’d be on time to pick him up-"</p><p>"Again, my bad."</p><p>"So he hasn’t had his afternoon snack-"</p><p>"I can feed him. Come on Charlie!"</p><p>"Detective McGarrett-"</p><p>"Commander."</p><p>"Commander?"</p><p>"Lieutenant Commander Detective McGarrett to be precise!" Steve finally snapped, "I was in the navy. I've carried out important raids and saved the nation multiple times, I'm the head of Five-O, I'm fairly certain I can handle looking after two kids on O'ahu for a week!"</p><p>The carer blinked at him, taking a step back as she did. Charlie held the truck to his chest with one hand and took Steve's with his other. </p><p>"Indoor voice uncle Steve. Outside for shouting," he said, gently.</p><p>"I'm not- I’m not shouting Charlie. But thank you. C'mon, let's go," Steve said. </p><p>"Mahalo for having me!" Charlie called as Steve hurried him out of the door.</p><p>They had to get to Grace before anything else went wrong today. Steve warned Charlie not to tell anyone what he was about to do, and turned his sirens on to speed through the traffic. They made it to Grace's school minutes before the club ended. </p><p>"Good day Gracie?" Steve grinned. </p><p>"Pretty good."</p><p>"Great!"</p><p>Steve was feeling fairly smug as he drove them all home. That feeling sank slightly when they walked in and Grace dumped her stuff on the floor, kicked off her shoes, and made a beeline for the couch.</p><p>"Hey, c’mon, you can't leave that there someone will trip on it," Steve warned.</p><p>"What are you my dad?!" She huffed.</p><p><em>This week, yeah</em>! "No, but what does that matter? I still don’t want you being hurt."</p><p>Grace just grunted. She laid back across the couch and held her phone up over her face. Her legs were still dangling over the arm that she had pushed herself off of. Steve frowned. He leaned on the back of the couch.</p><p>"You okay Gracie?"</p><p>She let out a long sigh and lowered her phone. "I warned Cooper twice that I didn't want him to call me monkey. I had frizzy hair for ten seconds - he claims he forgot but I don't believe him."</p><p>Steve was beginning to really dislike this kid. "I don't either."</p><p>"So now I need to punch him," she complained, "But I don’t want to punch him."</p><p>"Grace don't do anything you don't want to do."</p><p>"Not even homework?"</p><p>"... well played."</p><p>"If I don't punch him, how do I make him stop?"</p><p>Steve gave her a sympathetic look. She wasn’t going to like his answer. "If he cant play nice don’t play with him. Walk away. You're allowed to stop being friends with people who don't make you feel good, even if you like them."</p><p>"So I lose a friend because I have frizzy hair?" she whined, "Can't I just get a buzz cut?"</p><p>Steve bit back a smirk, "You don't want a buzz cut. You and Danno love your hair too much for that."</p><p>He was confident that if anyone could pull off some form of shaved head and short hair it was Grace. To Steve she would look beautiful no matter what happened to her hair. She just was beautiful. There was no arguing that. But she looked so glum at the moment too and he hated that.</p><p>"What do I do uncle Steve?" She asked.</p><p>"I... I think it's best to just walk away. Tell him you don’t want to be friends with someone who won't respect your boundaries. That’s the grown up way..."</p><p>Not once. Not one single time had Steve ever taken the high road like that. He was more for punching people who needed punching and using grenades to break into stock rooms when suspects wouldn’t come out. Anything to take action and get things done. Warn first, sure, but take action. Being mature and moving on was too slow for him. Too grown up. <br/>But he wanted Grace to be better than that. He wanted her to be better than him. In some ways, she already was.</p><p>"Just walk away?" She repeated, unconvinced.</p><p>That did not seem like her uncle Steve. In fact that sounded more like her Danno. Then again it didn't really sound like Danno to run off to New Jersey for a trial without making sure their babysitter was given a full and total rundown of their schedule, emergency contacts, allergies, breakfast preferences and anything in-between.</p><p>Maybe the two of them had been influencing each other more than either realised.</p><p>"I'm gonna start on dinner. If you need help with homework come find me okay?" He said.</p><p>"I don't have any. Me and Katya finished it when we were waiting for the others to finish getting changed into their cheer outfits," she explained. </p><p>"Well if you get bored there's always laundry that needs doing."</p><p>"You’re funny uncle Steve!"</p><p>She chuckled as she lifted her phone back up over her face. Steve tried hard not to roll his eyes. Charlie tugged his sleeve.</p><p>"Can I have a cookie before dinner?" He asked.</p><p>Grace sat up eagerly, "Ooh, can I?!"</p><p>"Manners kids," Steve wanted.</p><p>Grace batted her eyelids as innocently as possible, "Please uncle Steve?"</p><p>At the same time, Charlie whined, "Please Danno?" </p><p>"Danno?" Steve's heart thudded. It was a simple mistake. Charlie had already grown up calling two different men daddy. He didn’t know Steve was different. But just for a brief second, Steve was breath taken. "I’m not Danno kiddo, I'm uncle Steve."</p><p>Charlie huffed impatiently, "Please <em>uncle Steve?"</em></p><p>Steve was smitten. Too touched to say no. "Sure. One each. <em>J</em><em>ust</em> one though, okay? You ate like nine yesterday and we're running low."</p><p>Grace and Charlie beamed. They skidded to their feet and rushed to the kitchen to their snacks. Steve followed them in, and took a moment to just watch them. Grace reached up on her tip toes to reach the cookies. She handed one to Charlie before taking her own. Charlie stuffed it into his mouth immediately. The size difference made him like a mouse eating crumbs, having to use both hands to hold it. These kids were so sweet. For all the frustration of timing their schedules right and ensuring they got cleaned and fed and everything else that needed doing, sometimes they were adorable enough to make it worth it. </p><p>Steve couldn't help quietly wishing he was their father.</p><p>That feeling stuck with him. He listened keenly as Grace regaled him with stories about her cheerleading practice and tricked Charlie into eating fruit for pudding by making it fruit salad and adding a dollop of cream. He took Charlie upstairs to change into his pyjamas and realised they were still dirty, so he used one of his own shirts to swamp him as a nightshirt instead. Steve spun him a story about his time in the jungle treehouse while searching for monsters and proving they weren't around. He called Lou to get a rundown of what had happened during the day too. He gathered up the laundry dotted around the house and piled them onto one pile in front of his washing machine. Then he ignored it. Instead he set up Grace's lunch for tomorrow and stored it in the fridge so they could grab it and go. Then he ushered Grace upstairs, tucked her in, and wished her goodnight. </p><p>Steve laid awake in his bed for a while, staring up at his ceiling. He was exhausted. Happy, but exhausted. He couldn’t imagine wedging a long, physically and mentally demanding day at work into this, let alone a shoot out too. And the idea of spending a weekend racing around after these two only to deal with Tani and Junior and - if he was being honest - McGarrett?! Danger prone Captian Kabloom? No way. Steve didn't even want to think about dealing with all this and then being shot at, let alone do it every other week. </p><p>Danny was a wonder.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Day 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was one thing about Steve that was vital to taking care of kids. He could juggle. Literally and figuratively. He had gotten bored once and taught himself to juggle to entertain himself and his troops. He quit after Joe made an example of him by publicly humiliated him for wasting brainpower on insignificant distractions from the mission.</p><p>But he could juggle priorities.</p><p>The pent up energy of not being able to go out and swim a couple miles in the morning was seeping through. It made him want to juggle. While the kids were too busy sleeping to see, Steve did. He juggled the pop tarts until he dropped one and heard it break.</p><p>That one would be his then. </p><p>Pop tarts weren't much of a breakfast but he had padded Grace's lunch with healthy snacks to balance it. He figured that if breakfast could be a quick bite they wouldn’t need as much time to eat it and could sleep in slightly longer than usual. That would keep Charlie out of his hair long enough to finish loading the half soaked dishes into the dishwasher. </p><p>At least that was the idea. </p><p>Steve swore under his breath when Charlie came running into the room, wide awake, still wearing nothing but Steve's shirt because his clothes hadn’t been cleaned.</p><p>He had no idea what it was about laundry that made him constantly forget about it, but he really did. In his mind other things took priority, like food and kitchen hygiene. Clothes were next on the list!</p><p>Right after feeding the kids, dressing Charlie, getting Grace to school, entertaining Charlie, getting him to day-care, and burning off this desire to exercise. And maybe a quick shower. <em>Then</em> it was laundry. </p><p>"Bye Uncle Steve!" Grace called as she climbed out of the car.</p><p>Steve waved goodbye as she hurried across the road and towards the safety of the school grounds. He smiled to himself as she went. This school run was getting easier and easier. </p><p>On the ride back home, Charlie sang happily to himself, "hakuna matata. What a wonderful phrase!"</p><p>"hakuna matata?" Steve repeated, amused.</p><p>"Ain't no passing phrase!" Charlie beamed. He continued merrily to himself, "It means no worries, for the rest of your days! It's a problem free! Feel-lots-of-fleas! Hakuna matata!"</p><p>"Feel lots of fleas?" Steve repeated.</p><p>"Uhuh," Charlie nodded.</p><p>"I'm not sure those are the words, but you know it more than I do," Steve shrugged.</p><p>"They’re right." Charlie nodded firmly.</p><p>Steve pulled a face but didn't disagree. He couldn't. He was only partly sure that this was a song from Lion King, and if he was wrong, Charlie would giggle and correct him and Steve would smile, but deep down he'd hate it. Fortunately he phone rang before the next chorus.</p><p>"Aloha."</p><p>"Hey boss, sorry to interrupt but we caught a case," Tani declared.</p><p>Steve's face fell. "A case? Can it wait, I got Charlie!"</p><p>"Doesn't Danny have a day care set up?" Tani asked.</p><p>She was sure that Danny sent Charlie to day care for at least part of the day. She could remember him complaining about it. He didn't like having to leave Charlie with strangers for a good chunk of time every day, especially given how young he was and how often he was fussed over by nurses too. Danny was worried that Charlie would look for parents within them if he wasn't around enough. Tani thought he was being ridiculous - who wouldn't want a dad like Danny - but she didn't say that. She wouldn't. She valued her life too much.</p><p>"Not for another couple hours," Steve said, "what would I do in the meantime?"</p><p>"Sorry boss, but Grover said we need you," Tani shrugged. </p><p>She was beginning to understand why Lou had been so adamant that she was the one to call with the news. The way Steve grunted to himself was teaming with frustration. This was inconvenience for him. Steve didn't do well with inconvenient. </p><p>"Right. Right, no, okay, I'll be there," he said firmly.</p><p>Tani frowned at her phone as he hung up on her. "Alright, bye I guess. Rude."</p><p>Charlie tilted his head as he watched the cars speed past the window a little faster than they had before. It was a terrible habit of Steve's to step on the gas when he was frustrated. As if getting somewhere a fraction faster was going to change his entire situation. </p><p>To his credit, sometimes seconds meant everything. <br/>
Probably not in cases like this though.</p><p>"Does this mean we're going to see Uncle Kamekona?" Charlie asked curiously.</p><p>Steve blinked. "Uh, I dunno. Why do you ask?"</p><p>"Danno usually takes me to uncle Kamekona if he has to go work," Charlie said.</p><p>"Then maybe. First, we're gonna call Danno. You wanna say hello for me?"</p><p>Charlie nodded eagerly and Steve felt a little guilty. He was settle Charlie up for a fall. It was around three in the afternoon back in Jersey which meant that Danny would be in the courthouse. Steve had no idea how he would react to being interrupted, if he answered at all. </p><p>The call beeped repeatedly as they waited for it to connect through. Eventually it got diverted to the answering machine instead of being answered. Danny was clearly still in court. Charlie still yelled aloha when he heard the beep though. </p><p>"Hey Danny it's just us, I uh, I'm just calling to tell you that we caught a case and Charlie's not due at day care yet so I'm... I'm not sure what to do right now, but I'll figure it out, don’t worry, it's all good. Promise. Alright, bye."</p><p>Charlie yelled bye, and then Steve hung up. He let out a long exhale and drummed the steering wheel uncertainly with his thumbs.</p><p>"Alright. Executive decision... Mr Executive, what do you think we should do?" Steve asked Charlie.</p><p>Charlie looked up at him in surprise. He wasn't used to adults asking him his opinion. Especially when it came to avoiding day care.</p><p>"Uncle Kamekona?" He asked, uncertainly.</p><p>Steve grinned. "Brilliant idea bud, shall we swing by and see if he's around?"</p><p>Steve decided not to call ahead to warn Kamekona he was coming. That would only give him time to think of an excuse. This way, once they were there in front of him, he couldn’t refuse so easily. </p><p>Charlie held onto Steve's hand, swinging it absently between them as they approached the truck to wait for Kamekona. Steve tried hard not to look jittery but he wanted to go. His team needed him and he <em>hated</em> keeping them waiting. He was so focused on getting Charlie safe and getting out of here, he didn’t notice the attractive young lady in the bikini eyeing his form.</p><p>She watched with interest as Charlie absently took huge steps until he was at Steve's full arms length away. He never let go of his hand though. It was one of the rules for being outside.</p><p>
  <em>Never out of sight unless absolutely necessary.</em>
</p><p>Steve had taken those rules on board even if they weren't as drummed into him as they were into the kids. Steve held onto Charlie's hand, but allowed him to go as far away as he wanted until their fingertips were the only things still touching.</p><p>That caught her interest. A man with faith in his child was a good dad. Good dads were attractive. She strolled over to where they were waiting, just in time to hear Steve hammering on the closed window of the shrimp van.</p><p>"Come on, open up, some of us have places to be!" he complained.</p><p>She smirked to herself, and slid onto one of the picnic benches to watch him. She cause Charlie's attention first, and waved at him. That was got Steve to notice she was even there.</p><p>"Busy man?" She asked, pointedly.</p><p>Steve twitched his head towards the inquiry but didn't turned to see her. His tone was ringing with impatience. "Very!"</p><p>"Single dad?" She purred, curiously. </p><p>"He's not my dad," Charlie corrected.</p><p>Her eyebrows rose and Steve’s chest tightened. Now his focus shifted from the van to the people around him.</p><p>"I am- I mean - it's not, he doesn't mean- I'm his guardian," he insisted. </p><p>"Ah. Adopted dad?" She smirked.</p><p>"Sure. Just call me papa Steve," Steve tossed a hand through the air in a blasé manner. </p><p>He didn't really mind the idea of people assuming he was the kids father. In his mind at least he had adopted them as his own children so it didn't really feel like a lie. Charlie waddled around him like he had all the trust in the world in him too. It was adorable. And she seemed to think so too.</p><p>"Papa is cute, but I'd rather call you daddy," she purred. </p><p>Charlie frowned and tilted his head at her. "Why?"</p><p>She looked surprised and stammered. Steve looked just as baffled as Charlie. It took him a moment for his brain to catch up and realise what was actually happening.</p><p>"Huh? Oh- <em>oh,</em> oh no-"</p><p>The way he stammered eased her own embarrassment and she smiled again.</p><p>"That's cute. You're very responsible huh?" She teased.</p><p>He felt his collar heat up as his grip on Charlie tightened, "I try to be, but it's really my partner who's the responsible one-"</p><p>"Danno," Charlie beamed proudly. </p><p>"Exactly, Danno," Steve agreed, "Responsible old Danno, <em>Kamekona are you done yet?!</em>"</p><p>He pounded on the metal shutter again urgently. He could feel his ears turning pink. It got worse when she chuckled like that. She leaned back, cocking her knee against the table, and throwing her head back to show off her neck as she did. </p><p>"Aw, have I got you flustered? I wasn't even trying," she teased. Her eyes hooded as she bit her lip and added, "yet."</p><p>Steve wasn't sure what to say to that. He definitely didn’t want Charlie to have to hear any more of it. Not that he had any idea what was going on.</p><p>"Whats your name handsome?" She purred. Steve licked his lips nervously as he tugged Charlie closer towards him. She chuckled at his lack of an answer. "This partner of yours, Danno was it? What does she call you?"</p><p>"Danno's not a she!" Charlie giggled madly.</p><p>Once again the woman looked surprised. Her eyes widened as she glanced up at Steve. Her face feel, disappointed. </p><p>"Shame. You are a definite DILF," she said.</p><p>Steve wasn't sure what she meant but it made him feel a little hot under the collar. Charlie just looked baffled. Steve sensed the boy was about to ask something he really shouldn't so the relief that filled Steve when the shutter lifted open was unbelievable. </p><p>"Aloha bruh, how can I be of service today?" Flippa announced. </p><p>Charlie beamed and instantly dropped Steve's hand as he cried, "Uncle Flippa!"</p><p>Flippa beamed back, "Mini-D! Howzzit?"</p><p>"Hanging loose bruddah," Charlie threw up a shakra.</p><p>He was precariously balanced on his tip toes, holding himself up with one arm on the edge of the van window to peer his nose over the edge. To raise a shakra risked losing his balance, but it was worth it. Flippa threw his head back as he laughed.</p><p>"Oh man you are killing it! Kame, listen to this! Say it again," He said. </p><p>He reached back to nudged Kamekona from behind him. Kamekona shuffled over to lean out of the window beside him.</p><p>"Hanging loose bruddah," Charlie repeated. </p><p>Kamekona beamed, "Pretty good for a haole, you’ve been practicing! Good for you keiki, I'm proud of you."</p><p>Charlie lit up like a Christmas tree. His cheeks flushed as he bit his lip, embarrassed, but thrilled. It took Steve by pleasant surprise to see how easily the men greeted Charlie. </p><p>He was vaguely reminded of old grandmas who took in anyone who looked mildly hungry and filled them with food and nonstop stories about their lives and their families like they'd known them forever. It was strangely endearing. </p><p>"I talk to you in pidgin and I don’t get that reaction," he folded his arms and tried to look offended. </p><p>"You’re not still learning," Kamekona shrugged.</p><p>"Learning?" Steve repeated. </p><p>"First we learn surfer, <em>then</em> we learn pidgin. Helps to understand all the locals, without Detective Grouchy Cat noticing," Flippa explained. </p><p>Steve wasn't sure what to make of that. Part of him wondered if Danny knew. Of course Danny had only felt able to trust Kamekona at all because Steve gave him no choice for babysitting when Grace was young, and he was only part of their lives at all because Chin brought them to him, but it had quickly been established that they weren't sure how to survive without Kamekona to help them. He was invaluable in many way. Teaching the kids pidgin or other island ways was just another part of that.</p><p>Another perk of babysitting. The kids could integrate with their community better, and it really irritated Danny. </p><p>It was a true win win.</p><p>Steve couldn't imagine a Detective as good as Danny not knowing and pretending otherwise to save face. </p><p>"What can I do for you fine gentlemen today, I ask as if I don't already know what you’re about to ask," Kamekona declared.</p><p>"I gotta work Kame, there's been a big case, and-" Steve began.</p><p>"And my lil'bruddah here got time to waste before day care huh? No problem, you wanna show Flippa how to bus tables?" Kamekona asked Charlie. </p><p>"Man I know how to bus tables-" Flippa began.</p><p>"You think you know how to bus tables, but little D here-" Kamekona began.</p><p>"I can show you how to do it right!" Charlie finished.</p><p>"Exactly! You tell him keiki!" Kamekona smirked proudly.</p><p>Charlie ran round the side of the van to find the little apron they stowed away for him in one of the lower cupboards. It said "chef's little helper" across it, and it had Kamekona's face printed in the middle. Charlie loved it. </p><p>Steve was gobsmacked by it all. </p><p>The ease of the handover was more than  he ever dared to expect. Charlie was incredibly comfortable stepping into this role he had clearly been in before, and Kamekona didn't even blink while accommodating him. It was all so simple that it must have happened far more often than Steve would expect.</p><p>"Why you still here? I thought you had a case to get to. We got it from here," Kamekona huffed at him.</p><p>"His day care starts at-" Steve began.</p><p>"Hey, hey now, McGarrett, who do you think you’re talking to?" Kamekona asked, clearly offended, "Uncle Kamekona knows the routine by now, ain't the first time Charlie's been left in our care. We got this, you get to work."</p><p>"Danny really needs this much help this often?" Steve asked, shocked.</p><p>"Hey, it takes a village right?" Kamekona shrugged.</p><p>"Yeah... yeah I guess," Steve nodded.</p><p>"Then go protect and serve that village. We got this," Kamekona insisted. </p><p>"Mahalo, you’re the best Kamekona," Steve declared.</p><p>"I know," Kamekona declared back.</p><p>He watched Steve go, and allowed his gaze to trail to the attractive young lady in the bikini perched on his picnic table.</p><p>"Y’know those are for paying customers only but uh, for you I could make an exception," he winked.</p><p>She sneered at him, stood up, and walked away. <br/>
Kamekona shrugged.</p><p>"Your loss."</p><p>...</p><p>The case didn't require as much brain power as Steve had been hoping, but it did need footwork. Usually he left that to the kids while he and Danny went off on more important leads. Today though he was itching to burn off some of the energy he had keeping him awake at night. Between the exhaustion of running after two kids all day and trying - and failing - to do the housework, his pent up energy, and the amount of sugary snack food he was suddenly eating, it was giving him a headache. Driving made that worse, so for the time being he decided to stick to the palace. </p><p>Alone, distracted, he didn't fully notice the way he hummed to himself. He also didn't fully register Lou creeping in. He hummed as he tapped into the keyboard on the table.</p><p>"Hakuna matata... wonderful phrase... hakuna matata, ain't no passing..."</p><p>"What is this I hear? Big man McGarrett singing Disney tunes?" Lou grinned.</p><p>"Is that what this is?" Steve asked. </p><p>Lou tutted in frustration, "Damn, I should have recorded this. Danny will never believe me."</p><p>Steve scoffed. He scrolled back through the screens in front of them to show Lou what he had discovered. Lou momentarily ignored the humming so he could listen. A car had been hijacked with a toddler sleep in the backseat and they needed to track down the car to find the child. Steve's mind was whirling too. He had spent far more time with Charlie than usual, and he was struggling to ignore the fact that this kid was the same age as him.</p><p>That he was often in the backseat of the car when Steve drove. </p><p>That he fell asleep like a light switch flicking off.</p><p>That he could be in this kids shoes only too easily. </p><p>Steve did his best to put that entire idea as far out of his mind as he could, but he could never quite shake it. It made him feel queasy inside. Lou laid a hand across his shoulders.</p><p>"What you need to remember is that you’re not the only one responsible for Charlie. Right now Kamekona's watching him. Then he'll go to day care. Then, finally you'll take him back to Danny. You’re not in this alone," Lou assured him.</p><p>Steve took a deep breath and nodded. He couldn't help the idea that Lou was just humouring him. Lou was a father. Steve had seen him throw away a prestigious career for the sake of his daughter. Just because he wasn't alone in protecting his kids didn’t mean he felt it. </p><p>Then Kamekona's face flashed up on Steve's phone.</p><p>"I gotta take this, I'll be with you."</p><p>"Hey, what did Charlie have for breakfast?" Kamekona asked.</p><p>"Pop tarts," Steve said.</p><p>Kamekona frowned. "You kidding? That's not very -"</p><p>"I know it's not healthy, but he's going to have a good lunch and I've made sure his dinner is healthy too, and kids don’t even like healthy meals so-" Steve argued defensively. </p><p>"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" Kamekona urged, "I was gonna say it's not very <em>filling.</em> Health is all about balance bruddah, pop tarts are fine when balanced with fruit juice or something. It's all about the-"</p><p>Steve rolled his eyes. He didn't have time for this.</p><p>"He had pop tarts for breakfast at seven. He hasn't had anything since. He slept pretty well and we both agree there's no monsters in his bedroom, is that all the questions you’ve got?" Steve asked.</p><p>"Yeah, pretty much. How's the case going?" Kamekona asked cheerfully. </p><p>"I'll let you know," Steve lied and hung up.</p><p>"Hey, we got a hit on the license plate, it's over on Sand Island-" Lou began. </p><p>"I'll be right there," Steve declared. </p><p>"Steve," Lou's tone was deadly serious and Steve knew whatever he said he was not going to like. "It's in a warehouse known for loading shipping freights."</p><p>Steve's chest tightened. "That's smuggling..."</p><p>"Mmhm. Drugs, arms, people, we don’t know, but it's not good and its happening soon so we gotta go <em>now,"</em> Lou said. </p><p>"Let's go," Steve agreed.</p><p>Despite his protests, Steve leapt into the driving seat of Lou's car.</p><p>"If you so much as scratch this paintjob-"</p><p>"You'll be hiding from your wife at my place eating lucky charms in your underwear again, I know. You can sign the guest book!"</p><p>"Oh please, you're loving having the kids at your place. Danny's over there every morning before work and he stays over if you don’t have work, Junior's living there too and Tani visits him at every opportunity, you only get a break when picking up Adam at the airport- when you gonna man up and admit you can't bare to be alone?"</p><p>"Let's just focus on getting the kid home safe, shall we?"</p><p>"Alright Commander, just don't destroy my car this time."</p><p>To silence him, Steve spend up. Lou was thrown back against his seat and clung tighter to the handle above the door as he silently prayed for his life.<br/>
He wouldn’t pretend he was wrong through. Steve was thrilled to be so responsible. To prove to Danny that he was right to trust him. That the kids were happy to stay with him.</p><p>Yes he was exhausted, yes his house was a mess, and yes he didn't have a minute to himself anymore, but he loved it. And he was <em>horrified</em> by the risk of this kid in danger. If anything happened to the child he wasn't sure he could forgive himself. Even the idea of it was unbearable. </p><p>He sped up a little faster as the sirens in the distance warned him they were close.</p><p>When arriving at a dangerous situation with any risk of a shoot out there are two incredibly important things to remember. Kevlar and cover. SWAT had taken the area under control and shielded Steve and Lou as they quickly armoured themselves and ducked low to avoid any unseen gunmen watching them. </p><p>"Any sign of the kid?" Steve asked urgently.</p><p>"Not yet boss, there's no sign of the car either," Tani said.</p><p>"We're working on heat signatures right now," Junior said.</p><p>"Work faster, if the kids in one of these crates, he won't have air for long," Lou warned.</p><p>Steve's stomach gripped in disgust. He had never liked working cases with children as victims, but this felt so much worse than it ever had before. His mind wouldn't allow him to separate this kid from Charlie. It made him feel awful and helpless and he would do anything to get him back right now.</p><p>"Can't you go any faster?" Steve snipped, impatiently.</p><p>"The heat takes longer to penetrate the metal-" Junior began.</p><p>"Not good enough, is there any unknown heat signatures outside the crates?" Steve demanded. </p><p>"Well we can't tell until-" Tani began. </p><p>"I'm going in," Steve grabbed his gun.</p><p>"Steve, no-" Lou warned sternly.</p><p>"I wasn't asking," Steve snarled. </p><p>He kept his head low, his gaze wide, and his gun close as he broke the line to investigate the shipping crates. Lou snarled under his breath.</p><p>"Dammit, that idiots gonna get himself killed!" He huffed.</p><p>Tani's gun was already in her hand as she tied her head back, "Yeah well we can't let him die alone!"</p><p>Once armed officers started swarming towards the maze of shipping crates, hidden gunmen took to their defensive stations. At the first sound of gunshots Steve smacked against a shipping crate like a magnet. Junior, Lou and Tani also hit the deck, ready to hide from the gunfire. </p><p>"This is the dumbest way he's tried to kill us yet!" Lou complained.</p><p>"Is it?" Tani asked, unconvinced. </p><p>"Yeah, I mean, dropping us in an underwater lab with no oxygen and no escape route was pretty dumb too," Junior agreed.</p><p>A bullet pinged off of the metal, a little too close to his head for comfort. He ducked down a little lower. For a moment it was as if he was back in Korea, and the bullets were whizzing close by. Only this time Tani was with him. She latched onto his wrist and the fear in it yanked him back to reality. </p><p>"You got eyes on anyone?" Lou asked.</p><p>"Negative, but the impact came from up high so my guess is there’s on top of the crates," junior said.</p><p>"That's an improved vantage point," Tani agreed.</p><p>"You got eyes on McGarrett?" Lou asked.</p><p>"Yeah, he's on the ground," Junior nodded.</p><p>"Shot?" Lou asked urgently. </p><p>Junior shook his head. "No, he's- what is he doing?"<br/>
Tani peered round him to see what Steve was doing.</p><p>"Looks like he’s looking for tire treads."</p><p>"That car did speed in here pretty fast, it's not unlikely that it left skid marks. Could narrow down the crates worth searching," Junior said.</p><p>"Skid marks only happen if you’re breaking, they wouldn't lead him to an exact crate," Lou warned.</p><p>"We knows its one of the ground level ones, they drove in," Tani said.</p><p>"I got eyes on a gunman, eleven o'clock," Junior warned.</p><p>The hail of bullets were returned by the other members of Five-O, covering Steve. Although Steve had to dodge out of the way when Junior hit one centre mass and he tumbled off of the crate, headfirst to the ground. Steve had his eyes fixed on a single crate and he wasn't about to let anyone get in his way.</p><p>It had to be this crate. The skid marks lead here and there were dust tracks like it had been opened recently. Really recently. Recently enough that someone forgot to lock the padlock behind them before the cops showed up.</p><p>He hauled the door open - pausing only to use it as a shield for a moment, before ducking inside to safety. <br/>
The car was here. The licence plate matched. But he couldn't see anyone around.</p><p>Steve's heart thundered. He wasn't entirely sure what the scam was here, but if these people had found a kid in their back seat- lets just say they didn't strike him as the paternal type.</p><p>His instincts caught a glimpse of movement in the back seat and took over. Gripping his gun hard with one hand and his badge with the other he yelled, loud enough for his voice to echo off of the metal.</p><p>"FIVE-O, SHOW YOURSELF!"</p><p>The strawberry blonde hair of a young child edged into view for a moment, just behind the drivers seat, before ducking back for cover again. Steve's heart lifted as a smile tugged at his lips.</p><p>The kid kept low to avoid being seen, but it was too late. Steve ripped open the car door and watched as toddler scrambled back to get away from him. His eyes were wide with alarm, but still blurry from sleep. </p><p>A theory formed in Steve's mind. He had recently seen Charlie clonk out in some unlikely positions like he had just been turned off. It was difficult to wake him up when he powered down like that too. He guessed that this little boy had been soundly asleep under his blanket throughout the theft, unnoticed and unaware. </p><p>Until the gunfire woke him anyway.</p><p>Steve had long since learned to drown out the sound of bullets, but this kid looked terrified. He gave him the most reassuring smile he could muster.</p><p>"Hey champ," he smiled softly, "you been awake long?"</p><p>"W-where's mama?" He stammered nervously. </p><p>"I'm gonna take you to see her real sure Ethan, I promise. My name's Steve."</p><p>"Hi Steve..." he muttered, "what's going on?"</p><p>"Well, um," Steve gulped slightly.</p><p>Danny always told him he was too honest with kids, and that scared them. But honesty was the best way to be heard in his experience. Maybe he could be more gentle with it.</p><p>"See, we're in a bit of a dangerous situation right now, so I'm gonna carry you over to the police car, okay? Then we're gonna turn on those flashing lights and the siren and we're gonna drive real fast to get you home. Does that sound good?"</p><p>Ethan looked uncertain. "Can I turn on the siren?"</p><p>"Can you turn on - heck yeah you can turn on the sirens!" Steve grinned. </p><p>That seemed to perk him up a bit, which was a relief. As was the sound of silence outside. The shootout was over. Which probably meant bodies littered across the gap between here and safety...</p><p>"Hey, do you know the song Hakuna Matata?" Steve asked. </p><p>"Uhuh, I think so," Ethan nodded.</p><p>"Great, that's awesome, think you can sing it for me?"</p><p>"Um... Hakuna Matata... what a wonderful phrase-"</p><p>Steve joined in the singing as he eased Ethan towards him and scooped him up. He kept singing as he sat Ethan on his hip and pressed his head against his shoulder to keep his eyes covered. </p><p>"It means no worries, for the rest of your days," the two of them sung as Steve picked his way across the blood spattered cement. Ethan took over as he sang, "its a problem free, philosophy, Hakuna Matata!"</p><p>Steve chuckled softly to himself. Those might be the real words, but personally he preferred Charlie's version. Steve sat Ethan in the front seat of Pua's car and showed him the buttons to turn on the lights and sirens. Ethan giggled as he pressed it and the siren blared over his head. The way his eyes lit up eased Steve's thumping heart.</p><p>The kid was safe. He was going home. He had no idea what had almost happened to him.</p><p>"McGarrett," Lou knocked on the roof of the car to get his attention, "you got a sec?"</p><p>"Sure thing. Hey Ethan, why don’t you ask my friend Pua here how to work the lights," Steve suggested.</p><p>He left the kid happily playing with Pua as he slipped out of the car and over to Lou. Just by the look on his face Steve knew this is was going to be a talking to, not a conversation.</p><p>"Before you start-" Steve began.</p><p>Lou ignored him. "What in the absolute hell was that?! Of all the knuckleheaded schemes you've pulled, that was the - well maybe not <em>the</em> craziest, but it's up there! You don’t go blind into a shootout Steve! You don’t go blind into anywhere because that is how you get shot!"</p><p>"Lou, I understand where you’re coming from-" Steve began, calmly.</p><p>"Is that what you want? You want Danny to turn on his phone and find out his best friend got shot in the line of duty while he was meant to be looking after his kids?! You think that's what the kids want?!" Lou demanded.</p><p>Steve shut his mouth quietly. In the heat of the moment he had been thinking about Charlie as if he were their victim. He hadn’t stopped to think about what would happen to the real Charlie if he was injured. Or worse. Seeing the guilt strike Steve's chest, Lou softened. Somewhat. The adrenaline was still flowing and he was still furious.</p><p>"For this week you're getting to be a family man. That's not all sunshine, rainbows and wiping boogers hot shot! That's the overwhelming constant terror that anything you do can mess them up and they could be taken away from you at any moment. That terror is what should keep you fighting to stay <em>out</em> of hair brained schemes like this! Not go headlong into them!"</p><p>"I couldn't let that kid die Lou!" Steve insisted desperately. </p><p>"He wasn't going to! He was in the backseat of a mostly ventilated-" </p><p>"But we didn’t know that!"</p><p>"We didn’t know anything! Anything could have gone wrong there and how knows what would have happened because we didn’t have time to prepare!"</p><p>Steve huffed and twitched his head away.  He didn't want to hear it, but he knew Lou was right. He had put his team in danger today, and it was foolish. He was beyond lucky that no one was hurt.</p><p>"The thing you need to remember about being a dad Steve, is that there are people who need you to come home. That means you need to be able to stay alive long enough to do that."</p><p>Lou finished so calmly and seriously that it felt like a knife through Steve. He bowed his head and licked his lips. The adrenaline still coursing through him made him want to keep moving, and to move away from here.</p><p>"I need to pick up Charlie," he muttered.</p><p>"You've got paperwork now!" Lou argued. </p><p>It was too late, Steve was already heading for the car. "Leave it on my desk, I'll meet you back at the office!"</p><p>"That's my car!" Lou yelled.</p><p>Lou rolled his eyes and threw out his arms as Steve sped off in his car, leaving him stranded at the crime scene. He grumbled to himself, and climbed into Pua's car. Pua was about to object but Lou gave him a dark look.</p><p>"An idiot that drives like he’s got a meeting with God just stole my mostly new and expensive car. I get to take the kid back to his parents and see the look on their face that reminds me why I'm still in this stupid job and you’re not going to stop me!"</p><p>Pua did not argue. He just got in the car too, smiled at Ethan, and headed back to the palace where his parents would be waiting. </p><p>...</p><p>"Charlie, papa Steve is here for you," the receptionist called cheerfully.</p><p>She hadn’t been told to call him that. She was making an assumption based on an earlier conversation with Charlie. Steve failed to correct her. His Kevlar was heavy, but the ache in his chest was heavier, and he <em>needed</em> to see Charlie and know he was safe.</p><p>He needed to. </p><p>Charlie looked up, doe eyed and innocent, and beamed to see Steve. Steve broke. He fell to his knees and threw his arms around Charlie, bundling him as close to his chest as he possibly could. Steve's arms were as long as Charlie was. One across his back could hide him completely from the world. </p><p>Charlie wriggled to fight his arms free so he could wrap them around Steve's neck and hug him back. <br/>
It wasn't often that he found himself pressed up against a Kevlar breastplate, but whenever he did, he knew it wasn't good. It meant that Danno was upset.</p><p>Although it had never been Steve hugging him like this before, Charlie could recognise the desperation in it. Charlie was often on the receiving end of desperate hugs. Usually in a hospital though. He knew just what to do.</p><p>"It's okay. I'm here. I'm okay. We're safe, and we're together, and we're okay!" He announced, happily.</p><p>Charlie was rather proud to have memorized the mantra Rachel whispered to herself through tears while holding him close. Usually she kissed his head afterwards, but Charlie couldn't reach Steve's. He heard Steve sniff though as he finally let go.</p><p>"Yeah we are! We're safe! You good? Had a good day?" He asked, as if he wasn't on the brink of tears.</p><p>Charlie grinned at him, "did you know that tadpoles become frogs?"</p><p>Steve gasped in an excellent show of fake surprise. "They do?!"</p><p>"Uhuh! And before that, they’re frogspawn! Which is like jello!" Charlie nodded, grinning. </p><p>"No way! Frogs come from jello?!" Steve gasped.</p><p>Charlie giggled, "No silly, tadpoles come from frogspawn! Frogs come from tadpoles!"</p><p>"Wow! And where does frogspawn come from?"</p><p><em>"Frogs!</em> Obviously!"</p><p>"Obviously, how silly of me. You ready to go?"</p><p>"I haven’t got shoes on."</p><p>"Well let's go find them."</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>Charlie bounced off to find his shoes and Steve climbed back to his feet. He let out a long breath as he did. He felt a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>"You okay bruh?" The receptionist asked gently. </p><p>"Uh... yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. Mahalo," he forced a smile. </p><p>He didn't feel great, but he felt a lot better to have Charlie swinging his hand happily as they wandered down to Lou's car.</p><p>Lou snatched his keys back with a venomous smile when they reached the office again. </p><p>While Steve finished off his paperwork, Charlie sat on the floor of the office and played with his dinosaurs. Steve moved into Danny's office to finished said paperwork, because he knew that Charlie had toys stashed away in here. Plus he was more comfortable in his father's office. And honestly, deep down, Steve was still unsettled by today's case. He had never been so unable to disassociate from a victim before. If that's how he felt after one case, he couldn't imagine how hard this must be for Danny every time a kid was involved. </p><p>Steve considered phoning Danny again for a moment, but then decided against it. He had already left the man a message once today, he didn’t want to worry him. But that still left him feeling uncomforted.<br/>
And utterly exhausted. </p><p>"Hey, Charlie, how would you feel about Kamekona's for dinner?" Steve asked. </p><p>"Sure," Charlie shrugged, like he didn’t mind one way or the other.</p><p>Steve picked at his shrimp quietly as he leaned back to watch Charlie and Grace eat their meals too. Everything seemed strangely comfortable. Having them both in front of him meant that they were safe. If they were safe he could relax. He could breath. </p><p>"How was your day?" He asked. </p><p>Grace shrugged, "Fine."</p><p>Honestly, she was more interested in eating her food than talking.</p><p>"And Cooper?" Steve asked.</p><p>"Cooper had to leave early. He had a dentist appointment," she said.</p><p>"Ah. Okay," Steve said. He watched Grace return her focus to food. Whatever had been going on with Cooper, clearly didn’t bother her today. "Anything interesting happen?"</p><p>"No," she shrugged, with her mouthful. </p><p>"Right. Charlie? Learn anything cool today?" Steve asked. </p><p>Charlie screwed up his face as he tried to remember the pronunciation. "Lolo Kolohe."</p><p>Steve's eyebrows rose as Grace snorted. "You know what that means?"</p><p>"Um... not sure," Charlie admitted, "But Auntie said Uncle Flippa was lolo kolohe. I'm sure of it."</p><p>Grace hid her mouth with her hand as she said, "Crazy troublemaker."</p><p>"I’m not being a troublemaker, she did! Honest!" Charlie whined.</p><p>"No, no-" Grace began.</p><p>"<em>She did</em>!" Charlie insisted. </p><p>"Buddy, we believe you!" Steve assured him. He laid a hand on his arm as he did, "We do. What Gracie means is lolo kolohe means crazy troublemaker. She was translating."</p><p>"Oh..." Charlie muttered, "sorry..."</p><p>"Its okay, you didn’t know," Steve smiled.</p><p>He stifled a yawn. The adrenaline rush had swept through him now and left him behind, exhausted. As if reading his mind, Charlie let out a huge yawn.</p><p>"Sleepy buddy? Want an early night?" Steve teased. </p><p>Charlie shook his head, but he still looked tired. Kamekona took advantage of Charlie's naive enjoyment of bussing tables. The novelty of cleaning was not wasted on Charlie. Usually. The scattered mess around this place gave a different impression. Between that and playing all day he was exhausted.</p><p>It wasn't very much longer after that that Steve was following Charlie up the stairs to check the bedroom for monsters. It was only as he reached the bed and picked up the shirt Charlie had been wearing as a nightshirt that he groaned loudly and fought the urge to swear.</p><p>
  <em>The laundry.</em>
</p><p>It was far too much effort to deal with now. Instead, he tucked Charlie back into his shirt, tucked him into bed, and checked the room for monsters. To both his and Charlie's great relief, there were none. But Steve still hesitated at the door as he left. He looked back at Charlie. Tucked up in his covered, eyes shut, whirlwind settled down for the night, he was the angelic picture of innocence. Steve's chest ached for him. </p><p>It was so easy for a kid to sleep through horrors and have absolutely no idea they were happening. </p><p>Steve shook his head as he shut the door. He didn’t think he was going to sleep so easily tonight. At least he could sit on the couch beside Grace as she did her geography homework, comforted by the knowledge that she was safe, as long as he was keeping an eye on her.</p><p>On this couch.</p><p>This comfy, comfy couch...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Day 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Steve's eyes opened again it was nearly three am and he was still on the couch. The TV had been switched off, along with the lights, and a blanket had been draped over him to keep him warm. It was strange but comforting to realise that Grace had taken the time to tuck him in when he fell asleep beside her.</p><p>He felt a sickeningly familiar jolt of alarm to hear whispers from the kitchen though. </p><p>This early in the morning  - or late at night depending how you looked at it - with the kids asleep upstairs, that could only mean trouble.</p><p>Although when he staggered towards the kitchen and realised that the light was on, he adjusted that assumption. Criminals tended to work in the dark. </p><p>He paused by the door to hear Charlie sniffing, "A-and then - and then it's suckers came out of the bowl and it - it - <em>it</em> <em><strong>ate</strong> everyone except me!</em> It was horrible Gracie! I was all alone!"</p><p>"Shh, shh, it's okay. It's okay, there's no Octopus Charlie," Grace assured him gently.</p><p>"You promise?" Charlie sniffed.</p><p>"I promise," Grace assured.</p><p>Steve smiled softly at Grace. She took care of her little brother without question. She took care of her uncle without question. For such a little girl she was already so responsible. </p><p>"What are you two doing up?" He asked quietly.</p><p>The kids looked up from the kitchen island as he walked in. Charlie's eyes were red and puffy. There were streaks down his cheeks. Grace tugged him a little closer. </p><p>"Charlie had a nightmare that an octopus came up through the toilet pipes and ate everyone," she explained. </p><p>"I don't want it to eat everyone!" He howled, holding back another sob. </p><p>Steve bit back a laugh. Imagination was such a peculiar thing. It didn’t matter how unrealistic something was in the daylight, at night, alone with your thoughts, it can seem like the only thing possible. It was a traitor when it wanted to be.</p><p>"Charlie, I've been at sea a lot in my time and I've never seen an Octopus big enough to eat a human. And even if one existed, how's it going to fit through the pipes to come up to the toilet huh?" Steve said.</p><p>"Octopuses can get through really, really small gaps, I saw on a video at the aquarium," Charlie insisted. </p><p>Grace squeezed his shoulders again gently. She looked up at Steve. "Should we call Danno?"</p><p>Steve wrinkled his nose. He didn't want a little thing like a nightmare to worry Danny, but if it would reassure Charlie it would be better. </p><p>"It's early there, but yeah, we can try," He said.</p><p>The phone dialled the number automatically and the pips beeped repeatedly before Danny's answer box picked up. Grace leaned over to hang up. She huffed, a little too bitterly as she sat down.</p><p>"Danno's busy, mom's busy, at least Uncle Steve's here huh?" She said.</p><p>Steve warmed at how easily she offered him as an alternative. That she accepted him as another parent. One who was there as and when he was needed. But it stung a little to hear the irritation in her tone. It wasn't Danny's fault he couldn't be there. He was making the world a little bit safer.</p><p>"Y’know what makes me feel better after a nightmare?" Steve said.</p><p>Grace blinked at him, surprised, "You have nightmares uncle Steve?"</p><p>"Sometimes," he admitted, although it always made him uncomfortable to admit being vulnerable. "That's why I always have ice cream in the freezer, just in case. You want some ice cream?"</p><p>Charlie nodded. All shaken up and frightened or not he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity for ice cream. Steve kept it on the top shelf of his freezer because it was just above Danny's eyeline and he had a tendency not to look up. Steve had learned the hard way that some things - like ice cream - needed to be hidden away from his partner, especially when he was in a mood. Grace raised her chin to try and see past his arm.</p><p>"What kind of ice cream is it?" She asked, intrigued. </p><p>"Go to bed Grace babe. You did an amazing job, I'll take over here," Steve said gently.</p><p>She scowled. "If he gets ice cream, I want ice cream!"</p><p>Steve raised an eyebrow at her. "You'd give up sleep for ice cream?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>When Grace folded her arms and pouted like that she looked shockingly like Danny. Stubbornness ran through this little family. Stubbornness and responsibility. But she was so small. So miniature. Just a kid. She was far too young to act so grown.</p><p>"Fine. Eat ice cream then shuffle off to bed. You have school in a few hours," Steve warned.</p><p>Grace nodded. She sat up as he handed her a bowl and filled it with chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream. Three in one was cheaper and he preferred the flavour change. It kept things interesting.</p><p>The three of them sat together, quietly chuckling and yawning in the middle of sentences, while the sea lapped calmly at the shore outside. Once the ice cream was gone, Steve scooped up Charlie, and helped Grace to her feet. He carried Charlie up the stairs while Grace bumped against him, stumbling in her exhaustion.</p><p>Steve ran a hand across her hair as he nudged her towards her room. The lamp he had moved into it for her lit up half of the doorway. It was dimmed slightly, but enough to see by as she staggered to bed. He wondered how grown up she was and how much she was pretending to be. If he went in there and tucked her in like Charlie, would she be annoyed, or secretly delighted?</p><p>Steve tucked Charlie into his own bed again and sat on the edge. "Alright, you good now?"</p><p>Charlie nodded.</p><p>"Good. But if you have another bad dream you come find me okay? I'll keep you safe."</p><p>"I know," Charlie yawned.</p><p>Steve smiled softly. The yawn was infectious. "Night pal."</p><p>He stood up to head for the door, but something Charlie said, almost too quietly to hear, stopped him.</p><p>"Can I still call you papa Steve?"</p><p>Steve blinked in surprise at him. "Huh?"</p><p>"You said call you papa Steve at Uncle Kamekona's. Can I still call you papa Steve?" Charlie asked quietly.</p><p>Steve sunk back down to his knees beside Charlie, smiling softly. "Sure thing buddy. Call me whatever you want. You good, you comfy?"</p><p>"Yeah," Charlie nodded </p><p>"Good. Sweet dreams kiddo," Steve kissed his forehead. "I love you."</p><p>"Love you too papa Steve," Charlie yawned.</p><p>Steve smiled to himself as he shut the door behind him and wandered back towards his bedroom. Steve was exhausted, but satisfied. The day had been long, but the kids were so easy to love. It was worth it. He hesitated when he passed Grace's door.</p><p>If she got mad at him it would pass, but if not it would remind her it was okay to be a kid.</p><p>Steve crept in quietly. Grace had clambered onto the bed and not bothered to turn the lamp off after her. She was exhausted. Steve paused to watch her dozing off before daring to neated the covers. He eased them up over her shoulders to keep her warm, and brushed her hair out of her face so she could breath. Grace nestled in deeper, pretending not to know he was there. Steve chuckled gently. He leaned down and laid a kiss on her temple. </p><p>"Sweet dreams Gracie," he whispered.</p><p>He turned off the lamp and shut the door quietly behind him. In the new darkness, alone and unseen, Grace smiled to herself.</p><p>Steve had hardly hit the bed before his phone rang, and his smile grew. Danny's icon was him practically growling at the camera, and it always amused Steve to see it. </p><p>"Hey," he smiled. </p><p>"Hey, what's up?" Danny asked urgently.</p><p>"Nothing anymore, sorry," Steve assured him. "Charlie had a bit of a nightmare but its all sorted now and he’s asleep again, don’t worry."</p><p>"Oh no, is he okay?" Danny asked, clearly worried. </p><p>"Yeah, yeah, he's fine, we had some ice cream and now he's sleeping again," Steve assured him.</p><p>"Ice cream?" Danny repeated, unimpressed. Steve chuckled. Only Danny could switch between emotions so quickly, "For a midnight snack? You teaching my kids bad habits already? I knew I shouldn't have left them with you!"</p><p>Steve winced even though he knew Danny was joking. Mostly. "They were already having a midnight snack happily without me there, I just provided the ice cream."</p><p>"Mmm well if they start making a habit of this I’m blaming you," Danny warned.</p><p>"Got it," Steve chuckled.</p><p>It felt funny. Hearing Danny's voice made him feel comforted, and after a long and painful day he needed that, but he was so far away. He felt every mile like he could see them stretched out infront of him. The constant distance. If this was how Danny had felt when he went to Japan without telling him, then he needed to apologise. This was terrible. </p><p>"You all good though? Case go okay?" Danny asked.</p><p>"Yeah, yeah, the case went... we solved it," Steve muttered.</p><p>Danny's tone darkened, "Uh oh, what happened?"</p><p>"What makes you think something happened?" Steve asked, innocently. </p><p>"You sound upset, it's two am there, it doesn't take a handsome genius detective like me to work it out. What went wrong?" Danny asked. </p><p>Steve considered telling him the truth. He knew that Danny would eventually figure it out. But he wouldn't have a chance to before he came home. There was no point in letting him worry while he was still on the mainland. It wasn't like he could help. </p><p>"Nothing. Like I said, we caught the guy, we took down a car and drug smuggling ring, it's all good," he said.</p><p>There was a short pause as Danny waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, Danny said one word that hit Steve like a brick.</p><p>"But?"</p><p>Steve sighed. Danny knew him too well. He didn’t even need to see him to know how he was feeling. To understand when he needed to talk. He appreciated that, but it meant he knew too much. That wouldn't stop him worrying though. </p><p>"They were stealing new cars to hide drugs in the cars and ship them back to the mainland. It meant they could smuggle in drugs and sell the cars on second hand and make twice the money," Steve explained, "It would have been a neat little scam if they hadn't kidnapped a three year old boy in the process." </p><p>"Oh."</p><p>Again, it was far too simple to say so much. Danny understood immediately. He got it. He got Steve. Always had from day one. Steve wished he was here beside him so they could drink and he could squeeze Steve's shoulder and make him feel a little less alone. </p><p>"They didn't know he was in the car... they had him packed away in a shipping crate... he could have run out of air-" Steve's voice shook as he tried to control it.</p><p>"But he didn’t, did he?" Danny interrupted stubbornly, "You said could have. I take it that means he’s okay?"</p><p>"Yeah, yeah, he’s okay," Steve assured him.</p><p>"If he's okay where is he now?" Danny asked.</p><p>"I assume he's with his parents. His mom was in tears, she practically kissed Lou when he came in with Ethan," Steve snorted at the memory. </p><p>Danny hummed. He waited for Steve to carry on. If there was one thing he had discovered about Steve, it was that he had to talk. He was already so full of highly confidential information that he forgot what it was like to be allowed to talk freely. If he didn't let it out, he spun out instead. Then he did stupid things like disappear to the mountains and set out with his ex-girlfriend to avenge Joe.</p><p>It wasn’t something that came easily to Steve, but recently he was finding it less of a struggle to talk to Danny, which made it easier to listen to Junior when he was struggling. </p><p>Steve wasn't sure where they would be without Danny.</p><p>"That was his name. Ethan. His name's Ethan and he's home safe with his mom, who loves him very much. Enough to buy a brand new car because it's known for its impeccable safety features."</p><p>"Ah, impeccable enough to be worth stealing and smuggling. How ironic," Danny said, plainly. </p><p>"They're going away for years, and we've booked them for kidnapping charges too, but..."</p><p>"But what?"</p><p>"I just cant help thinking... what if we lost him?"</p><p>The silence that followed was icy. More than Steve had expected. He knew the implications of that thought. He knew what it lead to. He knew how it would strike fear into Danny's chest, just like it had into his in the past. To his credit though, Danny stayed a lot calmer than Steve had.</p><p>"That’s a dangerous way for the head of Five-O to think Steve."</p><p>Steve bowed his head. Danny was so gentle with him. Everything he said Steve already knew. He was already beating himself up for even thinking it. But Danny was so much more gentle and reassuring. Like maybe it wasn’t his fault for feeling this way...</p><p>"You can't save everyone, but you did today. If you start thinking about what could have gone wrong when nothing did, you'll lose the victory. You’re gonna forget why you do this at all," Danny warned gently.</p><p>"Maybe..." Steve muttered to himself.</p><p>Danny was right. It was dangerous. If he let it get to him he could lose his instincts and be far too dangerous to be allowed in the field. Steve couldn't handle desk duty. Outside of the field work, he wasn't sure what this job had to offer.</p><p>Except for quality time with Danny. Time with the kids. Time Steve would never give up or pass on unless it was a life or death situation. No matter how tough the job got, he had to keep going. To protect them.</p><p>His family.</p><p>"Did you know tadpoles turn into frogs Danny?" Steve said, quietly.</p><p>Danny's frown came through his voice. "Did I- what?"</p><p>"Charlie told me. He learned it today," Steve explained.</p><p>"Oh." Danny sounded confused, but he tried not to let it show. "That's nice. Isn't it?"</p><p>"Yeah, yeah, it is... I found out that you use Kamekona for free day care if you're called into work early," Steve said.</p><p>He tried to force a smile as he teased Danny to sound better than he felt. Danny grumbled immediately. </p><p>"He said he likes being around kids! He likes keeping them off the streets!" He argued.</p><p>"I'm not judging Danny. I’m not. It takes a village to raise a kid after all," Steve chuckled.</p><p>Now that really did make him feel better. Something as simple as bickering with Danny made things feel normal again.</p><p>"I'm not sure about a village, but our not so little ohana helps for sure," Danny smirked. </p><p>"It's hard, huh?" Steve smiled.</p><p>"Really hard. You ought to try doing it while getting divorced, <em>that's</em> hard!" Danny said.</p><p>Steve laughed loudly, then caught himself and lowered his voice so he didn’t wake up the kids. Danny chuckled down the other end of the phone and made Steve's stomach ache with longing. </p><p>"Danny, I..." <em>I miss you. </em></p><p>It didn’t seem fair to say it. He already had enough stress on him at the moment. He didn't need to worry about Steve on top of it. It was too much pressure. </p><p>"You what?" Danny asked.</p><p>"I..." Steve opened his mouth to try and form words, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. "It's nice to hear your voice."</p><p>There was another lingering pause. Steve worried his lip uncertainly. He didn't like it when Danny went quiet. It wasn’t right. Danny never knew when to shut up. He could shut Steve up in a sentence though. </p><p>"I miss you too babe."</p><p>
  <em>Oh.</em>
</p><p>Steve's chest ached. Danny was quiet and close to the microphone, like it was personal. Like he didn't want anyone else to hear it. It was their secret. Danny always understood Steve, even when he couldn't say what he meant. </p><p>"You sound tired. Get some sleep. You gotta look after yourself before you can look after kids y’know," Danny said gently.</p><p>"Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. I'll uh... I'll call you tomorrow maybe. Good luck at the trial," Steve said.</p><p>"Night babe. I love you," Danny said. </p><p>Steve closed his eyes as he chest heaved. He wished with all he had that Danny was here with him now. </p><p>"I love you too."</p><p>Danny hung up first and Steve let out a long sigh. He dropped helplessly into his bed, and buried his head into his pillows. He stayed like that till morning.</p><p>...</p><p>Nothing was going to go wrong today. Steve was confident in it. He had already set up lunch and left Charlie's clothes on the chair to be grabbed instantly, he had Grace's school bag packed at the door ready to go. Everything was organized. It had taken three days to adjust but he had managed it.</p><p>Breakfast was made before the kids woke up, they ate, Grace brushed Charlie's teeth for him, Steve dressed him, and Grace was dropped off with time to spare. Entertaining Charlie today meant a mess. Letting Charlie do the dishes got them plenty clean, but it also soaked the floor. That was fine. Steve could deal with that. </p><p>He whisked Charlie off to day-care and handled the paperwork much easier and faster this time. Charlie had been fed and he had gotten enough sleep and Steve was confident he had nailed this parenting lark now. He paused to watch Charlie get tackled to the floor as a group of his friends bundled on top of him.</p><p>Steve wrinkled his nose. He remembered bundling from his own youth. He didn’t like it. Of course these were toddlers, not a bunch of men just under twenty years old wearing new and heavy body armour. Then again, Charlie had medical issues that Steve didn't really understand.</p><p>He hummed quietly. If he was going to take care of Charlie he was going to need to read up on HLH. At least he seemed happy for now. </p><p>Steve got back in the car and managed to get all the way back to the house, already planning how to tackle the housework. He got through the front door and stared down the pile of plates still waiting for attention in the sink, and the puddle still waiting on the floor. The kitchen needed doing first. Then the laundry.</p><p>Definitely the laundry. </p><p>Before he could do either his phone rang and his heart fell. If this was a case and he got invested - as he always did, he couldn't help it - it would be far too easy to forget to pick up Charlie. If one thing went wrong it could all go like dominoes and end in chaos before Danny got home.</p><p>But it wasn't work.</p><p>It was Grace's school. </p><p>Which was much, much worse.</p><p>He hurried down the corridor towards the head teachers office. Grace was sitting out in the corridor waiting to be invited in. She had her hands tucked under her legs as she nervously swung her shins under her seat. A wave of relief hit him when he saw her uninjured. </p><p>"Gracie, what's- come here, what's going on?"</p><p>He tugged her into a hug. She was pressed against his stomach, but she didn’t hug him back. </p><p>"Cooper called me monkey."</p><p>She said it into his stomach, and she could feel him take a long deep breath. Both of them knew how much trouble she was in now. Once was an accident, twice was a mistake, and they'd all be waiting for the third incident now. Steve stood by his advice, but now Danny was going to be - well, Danny was going to be Danny. </p><p>"Let's not panic," Steve assure her, "I'll do all the talking."</p><p>That didn't work out so well. It was all started smoothly. they sat in her dark oak office in black leather chairs and Steve noted how much more impressive this office was than the governors. He pretended to be cross with Grace, and put out at even being here, but under the table Grace's hand was wrapped tightly around his for reassurance. </p><p>It was all going perfectly well until the teacher said something that Steve took personal offence to.</p><p>"We understand that Grace has had issues at home-" </p><p>"Iss- I'm sorry, <em>issues</em> at home? That's uh- that's a leap of assumption. What proof do you have that this "acting out" as you call it is caused by "issues" at home? What proof do you have that those issues even exist?" Steve demanded. </p><p>Grace blinked. She didn't think of herself as a troubled kid, but she had overheard the family therapist Rachel and Stan dragged her to say it once.</p><p>Apparently he wasn’t the only one who thought it.</p><p>The head teacher rested her hands on her desk and explained, "As I understand it Grace is a child of divorce. She has an immigrant mother who is currently flying back and forth between here and the mainland to visit her husband. Grace's stepfather-"</p><p>"Step Stan," Grace interrupted quickly. "Not father, Stan."</p><p>There was a short pause as the teacher glanced pointedly at Steve. Steve did his best not to look put out. The distinction was an important one. Ill timed but important. </p><p>"I apologise. Step Stan, who has left the house and gone to the mainland. You are here in place of Detective Williams, because he too is on the mainland- putting away a murderer, I believe you said?" She asked. </p><p>Steve regretted the way he explained away Danny's absence now. In the heat of the moment "he's removing a murderer from the streets of civil society" had felt too important to argue against and he needed her to just move on. After all, neither of her actual parents were there. </p><p>"A stressful job," the head continued, "One I'm sure we don’t understand the full impact of. Her younger brother has been sick-"</p><p>Steve scowled. He could sense Grace sinking into her seat beside him. He hated that she felt uncomfortable. </p><p>"Alright, alright, you've made your point," he said sharply. He turned his head away to lower his voice so only Grace could hear him. "Grace do you maybe want to wait outside?"</p><p>Grace shook her head stubbornly. "No."</p><p>"You sure? Because-"</p><p>"I’m good uncle Steve. I have to give my own testimony right? So they hear my side of the story."</p><p>"Right... except-"</p><p>"I'm staying."</p><p>The stubbornness in her tone instantly reminded him of Danny. He wouldn't allow people to push him about either, even his superior officers. Steve admired that. </p><p>"Alright," he nodded.</p><p>"Um, if you don't mind me saying, I'm not sure that's a good-"</p><p>"She stays."</p><p>Steve crossed his arms stubbornly and set his jaw. It was a silent warning that nothing was going to change his mind. If Grace wanted to stay, she stayed. He had her back the whole way.</p><p>"Very well... As I said, we are never sure how our children are also affected by stressful factors that influence us," the head teacher explained. </p><p>Steve was back on his calm defensiveness. Danny would have been proud at how much control he kept over his temper.</p><p>"Of course, but Grace is a fully supported and well rounded child. She would never do anything like this without a good reason," he explained.</p><p>"Grace does have previous," she reminded him.</p><p>"Yes, and I believe back then the root cause was that she was standing up for her friend against a case of bullying. Which she was doing again now. And you’re looking to punish Grace for standing up for herself, but what are you doing to prevent the cases of bullying that are clearly rampant in your school?" He asked sharply.</p><p>The teacher folded her arms atop the desk and gave Steve a calm accusing look.</p><p>"Are you a lawyer Mr McGarrett?"</p><p><em>"Commander</em> McGarrett and no, uh, no, I'm not, I'm a cop. I'm Five-O as it happens."</p><p>"Ah."</p><p>"Ah indeed, so if we're done here Gracie has a class to get back to-"</p><p>Steve rose to his feet and the teacher continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. </p><p>"I'm afraid we have a zero tolerance policy for violence in our school. Grace will have to be suspended for the rest of the day at least."</p><p>"Suspended?!" Grace gasped.</p><p>She nodded, "I'm afraid so."</p><p>Steve sat back down. "For how long?" </p><p>"She will be suspended for today and depending on how the other child's parents respond to the situation, she may return tomorrow or perhaps next week," the teacher explained calmly. </p><p>"Next week? You want to suspend her for the rest of the week for not taking shi-" Steve cleared his throat and shifted when he remembered Grace was beside him, "uh, not letting herself be bullied? Is that the kind of message you want to send to a little girl just about to start teenage hood? That she shouldn't stand up for herself?"</p><p>"It's school policy Commander. There isn’t one rule for one and one rule for another," she said, sternly.</p><p>"This is ridiculous," Steve scoffed.</p><p>He folded his arms across his chest to stop himself from lashing out. Usually he would have a partner to step in and stop him trying to punch someone. The temptation to do so today was only tamed by the fact that Grace was beside him and she was already in trouble. If he added to that - well he just shouldn't. </p><p>"Being an officer of the law I would have thought you'd understand our position commander," the teacher said, further annoying him. "A law breaker, no matter the reason, is still a criminal and must still be punished accordingly."</p><p>"This case would get put down as self defence and she'd be released on bail," he countered, bitterly.</p><p>She tensed. "There is no bail out of school, Commander."</p><p>Steve bit his tongue. He had a lot to say but he couldn’t allow Grace to get into more trouble. Besides, this felt like he was talking to a middle man. The only way to get things sorted was to take their lumps for today and settle this with Cooper's family before tomorrow. Danny could not find out anything about this. Neither could Rachel. The only weak link here was the school itself.</p><p>"Can we come to an arrangement?" He said, slowly.</p><p>She frowned. "An arrangement? Commander, you cannot bribe a school official."</p><p>"Bribe- I wasn't going to bribe you!" He sat up, affronted by the accusation. "I was going to ask that you keep this between us for now. Let me sort this out, and leave her parents out of this."</p><p>"You want me to lie to her legal guardians?" She repeated, accusingly. </p><p>"No. Of course not. That would be completely unethical. But since <em>I</em> am currently her legal guardian, and you’ve already told me what happened, they don’t need to find out. It's not a lie, it's -" Steve began.</p><p>"Lying by omission," she finished.</p><p>"Not if they don't find out, and we're not going to tell them-" Steve continued.</p><p>"You are not her father Commander McGarrett," the head teacher warned.</p><p>Steve paused. He frowned. His eyebrows furrowed. A white hot fury raged inside his chest and burned away the surprise of her reaction. <em>How dare she?</em> </p><p>"I’m as good as!" He snarled. </p><p>Grace glanced up at him, surprised. She had never seen Steve angry before. Put out, sure, frustrated, definitely, but <em>angry?</em> Never. She watched in wonder as his laser glare tore through her head teacher, making her shift uncomfortable. If looks could kill, Steve's would. </p><p>The head cleared her throat awkwardly. "Now Commander McGarrett-"</p><p>It was too late for her to try and backtrack through. Steve wasn’t about to let her try. It was her turn to speak and there was a level of venom to his painfully calm tone that warned everyone in the room that he would not be interrupted. he would be listened to. Or woe become you.</p><p>"How dare you? How do you even get the balls to say that to me? <em>To my face?!</em> Who are you to tell me I'm not their father huh? What gives you the right to decide what makes a parent? You would not dare to say that if it were Stan sitting in front of you right now and I am more of a father to these kids than he ever was! I'm here for one thing! I’m not going to let <em>you</em> sit here and tell me I'm not a good enough to be considered a parent just because I'm not blood. Or is it just that I'm not married to Danny? Because either way you're wrong. I love these kids - I love Grace - I will always do whatever it takes to prove that and <em>that</em> makes me good enough, no matter what you think!"</p><p>The snarl beneath his words was clear to all in the room that he was willing to fight to prove he meant it. Danny and the law be damned, Steve wasn't about to let anyone tell him he wasn't good enough. </p><p>Especially when he agreed.</p><p>Grace stared up at him with slack jawed awe. She had never heard anyone so calm with their fury. And he was furious. There was no denying that. His face was disgusted and angry but his tone was deadly calm until each punctuated snarl. Grace was glad Steve was on her side because he was terrifying. </p><p>His lasers stayed firm as he set his jaw. Snakes had a less intimidating glare. He sat back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest. The head mistress lost all of her words. Grace, however, found hers in the silence. Steve controlled his tells so they couldn't say he was out of control just because he was angry. They couldn't throw him out for causing problems. </p><p>This was a game of poker. She just had to bluff her way out of here.</p><p>Grace sat up in her seat and leaned against the desk like this was a business meeting, and she suddenly had the upper hand. </p><p>"Mrs Kabila, I know what I did was wrong, but I have been in a stressful situation at home and I lashed out against it when being picked on by a friend. It was wrong. I take full responsibility for that and I won't do it again. But please don’t punish uncle Steve by telling my parents. That's unfair to him which would put me in another unfair situation and add to the stress. That could lead to affecting my casework and overall education and none of us want that."</p><p>Steve's expression changed on a dime as he looked over at Grace. The idea that she would argue on his behalf had never occurred to him. He knew he'd fight the devil back - or at least help Danny do it - for her, but he never thought she'd argue for him. Two way streets were harder to see. Steve's chest warmed for her. He softened.</p><p>"Kid we need to get you back out surfing. Much easier to relax on the ocean."</p><p>"That-" the headmistress attempted to regain her posture but the mild shake in her voice didn't go unnoticed, "That isn’t a bad idea. Grace needs outlets for her emotions. Surfing could be an asset."</p><p>"So you're agreeing that I should take Grace surfing more? For her health and wellbeing?" Steve smiled.</p><p>"Yes, I believe it would benefit you greatly to have some physical or creative outlets for your frustrations Grace. Surfing would be perfect," the head explained.</p><p>It amused Steve to think of how Danny might react to the news that Grace was required to surf with him more often, for her mental wellbeing. It amused him more to remember the times Danny had actually joined them when they went surfing. No matter how much he complained or how quick he was to fix his hair when they were finished, he enjoyed himself really. Deep down. Steve could see it in his eyes. Or in that small, satisfied smile he let slip when he thought no one was looking. A secret smile.</p><p>Steve's favourite. </p><p>"Are we free to go?" Grace asked, plainly. </p><p>The head leaned back in her chair and eyed Steve. "Yes. Think about where you want to go in life Grace. Think about how you want to get there. This isn't like you. I know you can be better. Hopefully we'll see you tomorrow to prove it."</p><p>Steve stood up before Grace. He picked up her bag so they could leave faster. His voice was dripping with disgust when he nodded at the headmistress. </p><p>"Aloha."</p><p>Steve did not like her. </p><p>Grace couldn’t help wondering how differently this would have gone if it had been Rachel or Danny sitting beside her. Or God forbid, <em>Stan.</em> She was lucky to have Steve care about her. She knew that much. </p><p>Steve stayed a whole three steps ahead of her as they left. It was like he couldn’t stand to stay inside the building. He let out a long sigh as they left the school and slowed as they reached the steps. He said nothing until they had climbed inside the truck and shut both doors. There was a long silence as both of them let their adrenaline settle.</p><p>Finally, quietly, Grace muttered, "I'm sorry uncle Steve..." </p><p>Steve shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. It was bad advice that got us here. I knew you had previous, but that had been swept aside, I didn't think - well, I guess I just didn’t think..."</p><p>Steve felt awful. Danny had been so deeply concerned last time Grace put up a fight to defend someone weaker than her. Steve remembered that clearly. He was convinced Grace had done the right thing but now Danny was going to be put in that awkward position again and it was Steve's fault for encouraging it.</p><p>"Danno's right when he says the injustice of the world can't be settle by fists. I spent so long fighting bad guys, sometimes I forget that civil society means leaving peacefully. This is my fault. Not yours. I’m sorry," Steve said.</p><p>Grace frowned. She may only have been young, but she knew right from wrong. It had been drilled into her all her life. Sometimes a little violence was necessary. </p><p>"I knew it was wrong Uncle Steve. I knew Danno would be upset if he found out. I still did it. I could have backed away, like you told me to, but I didn’t... This isn’t your fault it's mine," she said, confidently. </p><p>Steve gave her a weak smile. "That's sweet, but you’re a child. No matter what happened, it's on me. I should - I know better."</p><p>Grace frowned again. There was a lull in conversation as Steve started the engine and Grace automatically reached to buckle herself in.</p><p>"Think she'll tell Danno?" She asked quietly.</p><p>"No, not unless she already has," Steve said, honestly.</p><p>After the look she gave him when he was tearing into her, Steve was confident that she wouldn't call Danny. She might bring it up again next time she saw him, but she wouldn’t actively tell him. </p><p>"I had to beg her to phone you. Mom would kill me. She was furious last time," Grace said. </p><p>"Yeah well you'd better start thinking up excuses for your bruises before she gets back. You know if Danno sees them he'll figure out what happened right? He’s a good detective,"  he warned.</p><p>Grace instinctively moved to cover her aching hand with the other to hide her knuckles. "If he doesn't get distracted by this at the trial he'll finish it faster and come home faster. This can wait. I want Danno home." </p><p>"Here I thought I was doing a good job," Steve forced a smile.</p><p>She looked up at him in alarm and said nothing. She didn’t know what to say. She hadn't meant it like that and she wasn't sure how to back track. Not that she had time, because Steve moved on.</p><p>"Since you've been excluded you can help me research," he declared.</p><p>"Research what?" She asked. </p><p>"HLH."</p><p>Grace frowned in confusion. "Charlie's disease? Why?" </p><p>"I don’t fully understand what it is and I want to make sure that he's being taken care of as best as I can, which means recognising his weaknesses," he explained breezily.</p><p>Grace still looked confused. "The doctors said Danno's bone marrow took. The chemotherapy worked. Charlie's cured, he just needs check ups to make sure he stays cured. He can live a normal child hood." <em>lucky for him. </em></p><p>"Well..." Steve paused. Whatever he was about to say, he thought otherwise, "yeah you’re right." </p><p>Grace rolled her eyes. She hated it when adults self censored their thoughts around her. Like she wasn't old enough to guess what they were thinking. </p><p>"Say it." </p><p>Steve blinked innocently. "Say what?" </p><p>"Say that Charlie could relapse."</p><p>Steve did a double take. His jaw hung. Grace said it so casually that it took him a moment to rememeber he was supposed to be the grown up reassuring her everything would be okay.</p><p>"I wasn't going to say-" </p><p>"Say Charlie could relapse if his white blood cells detect a fault in Danno's marrow and decide to fight against it. Say he could get sick again and this time none of us would be able to help. Say I could still lose my baby brother. You might as well say it because it's true and no one else is brave enough!" </p><p>Grace spoke seriously and calmly, as if this was just a fact that couldn't be denied. Steve didn't like it. Grace was a happy kid. She shouldn't be so accepting that she could lose her brother. He wasn't. </p><p>"Grace, I didn't-" </p><p>"No one else will prepare for it Uncle Steve. Danno likes to seem optimistic, but he's always so sure everything will go wrong and he never prepares for it." </p><p>"I guess that’s why he got kicked out of the boy scouts huh? Not being prepared?" </p><p>"No, that was because he and his friends used their knives to start a fire to light their firecrackers and wake up the whole camp at three am, terrified by the sound of gunshots." </p><p>Steve blinked as he was taken aback. There wasn't anything he could say beyond, <em>"wow."</em> </p><p>He couldn’t even manage to make the atmosphere lighter in here. Grace had opened a gate, and now it couldn't be shut. That made his head spin.</p><p>"Is she right uncle Steve?" Grace asked.</p><p>"About what? She said a lot of things," he said.</p><p>"About me being in a stressful situation at home? I don't really remember a time before all this but..." </p><p>Thinking about it, it probably wouldn't hurt to get the kid some therapy. Lou's daughter Samantha had a lot of therapy after witnessing Wo Fat kill Aaron Wright after he kidnapped her, and that was just one thing. In Grace's short lifetime she had lived through five things Steve could think of off the top of his head.</p><p>His lingering silence spoke volumes and Grace sighed. "Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis." </p><p>Steve glanced over at her. She had rested her head on her hand and was now glumly staring out of the window. He felt way out of his depth.</p><p>"What's hemo...phalgoric-" </p><p>"Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis is what Charlie has. Its what HLH stands for."</p><p>"Oh. It is?"</p><p>"Yes. Its a is a severe systemic inflammatory syndrome. It's caused by his cells that destroy germs and his white blood cells attacking his body rather than diseases. They attack bone marrow and organ tissue and sometimes even the brain which leaves him susceptible to more diseases which he'll be unable to fight off and could ultimately kill him..." </p><p>"... oh..." </p><p>Steve wanted to say more but he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know much about HLH. He hadn’t heard of it until Danny told him Charlie had it. Danny hadn't either until Rachel said it. Whatever Grace knew, he assumed had come from her own research. She was probably right. He wanted to be a comfort, but words couldn't form in his mind to help him. <br/>
Steve also thought that Grace needed to let this out.</p><p>She had clearly been holding it in for a while. If he interrupted her flow now she might hold in something that she shouldn’t. As much as Steve definitely did not want to think about Charlie getting sick again - even the idea made his chest hurt and his stomach burn - he doubted anyone else could bare to listen to her talk about the possibility of it happening. Danny definitely couldn't. He barely knew his child, he didn't want to consider the prospect of almost losing him and not being able to do anything about it. No one was going to listen to Grace, so she'd bottle it up.</p><p>Steve knew a lot about bottled up emotions. He knew how deadly they were. He wouldn't allow them to poison Grace from the inside, even if it meant imagining losing a child he thought of as his own son.</p><p>So Steve took a left turn at the upcoming junction, away from home. She needed more time to talk, and he wasn’t going to let a little thing like reaching their destination stop her.</p><p>"Mom wouldn't tell me y’know. I don't think she really heard anything past your son is sick. She didn't even tell me. Stan did. He just said Charlie was sick and he'd be in hospital for a while but if my bone marrow matched he'd be okay... Except I didn't match..." </p><p>Grace's voice shook as she spoke. Steve heard her gulp. He could only imagine she was trying to swallow back a ball forming in her throat.</p><p>"Then... then Stan found out that not only didn’t he match bone marrow with Charlie he didn't match DNA... I found out Charlie wasn’t my half brother, he's my full brother. Which meant I no longer had Danno all to myself. I had to share Danno's attention but if his marrow matched I got to keep my brother... That was a really awkward dinner..."</p><p>She snickered to herself as she wiped her tears away on her arm and glanced over at Steve to see if he was still listening. He gave her a sympathetic smile.</p><p>"I can imagine," he said.</p><p>Grace nodded. She could imagine Danny phoning Steve the moment he got home. Or, more likely, driving to Steve's house to rant and rave there in front of him while Steve nodded along and listened intently. Just like he was now. </p><p>It wasn’t lost on Grace that she was lucky to have Steve in her life. Someone who loved her as much as another father and wasn't afraid to prove it. She would have told him so if other things hadn’t been on her mind.</p><p>"You can find out anything you need to online though. Anything at all. Even that Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis has the same amount of syllables as supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." </p><p>"su-per-cali-fragi-listic-expi-ali-do-cious... huh. So it does."</p><p>"I learned about Charlie's sickness. I learned how to make sure he was okay, even when Mom was away and Stan was working and Danno was on a case and we were with whoever was left to watch us. I had to. No one else spends as much time with Charlie as me. I'm the one who knows him best. I'll be the first one to notice if he gets sick again. Don't worry Uncle Steve, the likelihood of that happening are slim to none."</p><p>Grace finished so reassuringly that for a moment Steve forgot that he was supposed to be comforting her not the other way around. He glanced over at her again. The way her big brown eyes glossed with tears and edged with red made him want to cry. He wanted to press pause on all of the world just to give her a break.</p><p>But life isn’t that fair.</p><p>"Gracie, do you think you might be a little stressed out?" He asked, gently. </p><p>Graces face fell. She slumped down in her chair with a drawn out sigh, but said nothing. So many adults in her life worried about her, and she had no idea if their worrying was justified. </p><p>"Stress is a normal factor of life Gracie. It's not a nice one, but it's normal. There's more stress for you because Danno's a cop. He knows the dangers and he worries. I worry," Steve explained, as reassuringly as he could. "But you're handling it fine. You're handling it <em>well.</em> There are grown ups who couldn't handle what you’ve been through."</p><p>Grace stared hard at the dashboard and fought back tears. She didn't know what she had been through. This was just her life. She didn't know any different. She didn't remember a time when her parents weren't divorced and arguing. She didn't have a brother who wasn't at risk of death. She didn't know what it was like to live her whole childhood in one place. She didn't know what it was like to not be aware of the dangers surrounding her at all times.</p><p>All these things people said she had "been through" were just life. What made hers any more stressful than anyone else's?</p><p>"Punching Cooper wasn't stress," she muttered. </p><p>Steve agreed. There wasn't enough evidence to assume that it was stress induced. It was payback more than anything. But that didn't go down well on paper. </p><p>"It was self defence. I don’t care what your teacher says, you were defending yourself as is your right to do so. But if you ever do feel stressed out or anger or upset, about anything, anything at all, and want to talk about it, I'm here for you okay?" Steve said, seriously. "I'm not going anywhere." </p><p>Grace glanced up at him. She eyed him quietly. He glanced away from the road to meet her eye and flash her a smile. Grace looked dubious.</p><p>"You went to find Uncle Matt in Columbia." </p><p>Steve's stomach knotted and his hand latched the steering wheel tighter. Colombia was not a fond memory. He had never seen Danny so...</p><p>"I did." </p><p>"Before that you left without saying where you were going and if you were coming back." </p><p>Steve wrinkled his nose. Danny made it clear that Steve had handled that poorly. A single letter without fully promising to come home made Danny feel abandoned. Steve still felt guilty for making him feel like that. He hadn't even thought about the kids.</p><p>"Yeah..." </p><p>"You've disappeared before uncle Steve." </p><p>She was right about that. If and when the Navy needed him Steve dropped everything to go. That nomadic side of him had never been fully tamed since meeting Danny. It was the first time in his life he had responsibilities outside of the Navy, and it caught him completely unawares. They had quickly made themselves his priority. If the Navy called him now he had no idea what he'd do. But he knew one thing for sure.</p><p>"I will always come back if you need me Grace. You or Charlie. Always," Steve said, sincerely. </p><p>Grace frowned. Steve glanced over at her again. She held his gaze sternly as he accused, "You promise?" </p><p>Steve was a man of his word. It was all he really had. Everything else could and would be taken from him, but his priorities and loyalties would only ever shift if absolutely necessary. His word was his bond. He held her gaze as he nodded. </p><p>"I promise."</p><p>She seemed satisfied. She smiled as she settled in her seat and stared back out of the window. The mood had shifted slightly. The silence around them was comforted. No matter what happened, Steve would be there. </p><p>His mind wandered back to the last conversation with Danny.</p><p>
  <em>"I'm entrusting you with the most important things in my life. They're the reason I am alive. I need you to promise me you'll keep them safe".</em>
</p><p>His chest ached under the burden of responsibility. He had promised two of them now that he would be there to keep them safe. One more promise and he may as well marry Danny. He couldn’t help but wonder if this is how people ended up being parents.</p><p>...</p><p>Steve and Grace found themselves standing in the living room with two hours to kill before Charlie needed to be picked up, and no real idea as to what to do now.</p><p>"I suppose, technically this is supposed to be a punishment, right? But you didn't really do anything wrong so I shouldn’t punish you... what should we do instead?" Steve asked.</p><p>"Well we could go surfing," Grace suggested.</p><p>Steve beamed, "Excellent idea!"</p><p>"I haven't got any equipment though," Grace said.</p><p>Steve frowned. "No. Maybe tomorrow we'll go into town and buy you and Charlie some surfboards."</p><p>"I might be back at school tomorrow," Grace said.</p><p>"Let's hope you are. But realistically you won't be so if I take Charlie out of day care for the day, we can go on a little ohana shopping spree," Steve said.</p><p>"You know Charlie likes to run away in shops right?" Grace warned.</p><p>"Then we'll put a bell on him or something, it'll be fine. We'll call Kono- oh. We can't call Kono. She's gone..."</p><p>Steve had gotten himself wrapped up in the idea of time with the ohana. That usually meant Kono and Chin when it came to surfing. Neither of them were on the island anymore. A wave of longing crashed over him at their absence. </p><p>"Uncle Steve... do remember when I was an Aloha girl and you came camping with us that one time?" Grace asked, cautiously. </p><p>"I do," Steve nodded.</p><p>It was hard to forget being kidnapped by an injured criminal and forced to hike through the jungle with a little girl at gunpoint.</p><p>"Remember that cool knife trick you did?" Grace asked, cautiously. </p><p>Steve eyed her. "Your father would use it on me if I taught you that."</p><p>"My father's not here," Grace countered.</p><p>Steve eyed her again, slower this time. Suspiciously. "Promise not to tell?"</p><p>"Cross my heart," Grace raised one hand up and laid the other across her chest.</p><p>Steve grinned. "Let me go find my knife!"</p><p>The trick with knife throwing is to have a good trainer. Someone who has the equipment to keep you both protected. This is where <em>Steve</em> was in his element. </p><p>"Best way to throw is to stay relaxed body. When you're tense, you'll overthrow the knife which makes your form bad and inconsistent," Steve said.</p><p>Grace twisted the knife thoughtfully in her hand as she absently asked, "So stand straight?"</p><p>"You got it," he nodded.</p><p>"Like this?"</p><p>"Great, you're doing great, stand straight to make a straight, accurate throw. Keep your right foot forward and your left foot slightly back behind it."</p><p>Steve adjusted her stance as she shifted backwards. Grace listened intently and adjusted as soon as he told her to. She was good at taking orders. For a moment he wondered how good she would be in the Navy, but the idea of her in the same life or death situations he had been in, doing things that he had done, knowing things and seeing things - the idea sent such a chill through him that he shook it away.</p><p>It that was that single moment that made Steve suddenly understand why Junior's father was so adamant about him not following in his footsteps. <br/>
The idea was too much to bare.</p><p>"Now, the best way to do it is to forget about aiming okay?" Steve said. </p><p>"Forget aiming?" Grace repeated uncertainly. </p><p>"What, you got cauliflower in your ears or something? That’s what I said, forget aiming," Steve said.</p><p>Grace grinned. "You sounded just like Danno then, <em>papa Steve."</em></p><p>She was teasing, but it felt like a compliment. Steve tried to mask how flattered he felt by setting his hands on his hips and giving her a stern look.</p><p>"Don't insult me when I've got a knife in my hand Gracie, that's personal safety rule number one."</p><p>Grace giggled and nodded. Steve talked her through the way to hold a knife again, before allowing her to fling the one she was holding, and send it twirling through the air towards the hunk of wood at the end of the garden. It missed. Instead it fell short by a couple of inches.</p><p>"Not bad," Steve declared, "it's not unusual to miss the first few attempts. You’re still calibrating the weight."</p><p>She waited for his knife to be thrown and land solidly in the balsa wood before going to fetch them both.</p><p>"When this is over we do laundry, okay?" He said.</p><p>"You need to prioritize what needs washing first," she said.</p><p>He shrugged, "The dirty stuff I guess?"</p><p>"No doy! I mean you need to decide what needs cleaning most and what needs to be used first. Charlie's pyjamas are sandy and muddy and he has to wear them tonight. They go in first," she paused to throw the knife through the air. It still dropped lower than Steve's did, but it did hit the wood. "My school jacket probably won't need cleaning because I'm suspended and don’t need it."</p><p>Steve hummed dubiously.  Any other time, if this was Danny looking after Grace, Steve would track down Cooper's family and convince them that Grace didn't deserve to be suspended for teaching Cooper a lesson. But Danny wasn't here. Someone had to be to look after her. Mild frustration made his knife throw a little harder than he expected. They could hear the whack against the wood from back here. </p><p>"This could be my new hobby Papa Steve," Grace said.</p><p>"You know that this is the one thing Danny doesn't want you doing more than surfing right?"</p><p>"But it's so stress reliving! And no one's going to pick on the kid who punched a bully and went to play with knives while suspended!"</p><p>Grace giggled slightly manically as she threw the knife hard enough to make it spin through the air. Steve frowned.</p><p>"Hey- stop, hey, look at me."</p><p>He laid a hand on her shoulder and tugged her back to face him, before ducking down onto on knee to her level. Grace's face fell. She hated it when adults got down to her level. That meant this was serious. </p><p>"This isn't something I want you to take as a hobby okay? This is a survival skill. I don’t want you to use it outside of a survival situation. You can practice with me so you don’t lose the skill, but it's not safe. This isn’t a game. You understand that, right? I need you to promise me you’re gonna be careful."</p><p>Grace couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. She had control of a knife. She wanted to show off to her friends. But Steve's face told her he meant it. This was dangerous. He trusted her to be mature about this, and she didn’t want to let him down.</p><p>"I promise."</p><p>He didn't doubt her for a minute. He had seen her deal with Charlie. She was responsible. But this was another thing she was too young to be doing and he could kick himself for only realising now. She acted so grown up sometimes even he forget how young she really was.</p><p>Tomorrow, whatever happened, he was going to make sure Grace got to be a kid.</p><p>"Alright, go get your knife and we'll try this five more times before laundry, okay?" Steve said.</p><p>She improved with each throw. Steve watched, adjusting her posture every now and then just to ensure she was doing it right. </p><p>
  <strong>Thunk!</strong>
</p><p>"STEVE LOOK!"</p><p>"HEY! LOOK AT THAT!"</p><p>Steve threw his arms around Grace and swept her off of her feet proudly as they cheered. The knife had landed directly above Steve's, deep in the wood. </p><p>"You carry on like this and you're going to be able to run away and join the circus within a year," Steve joked.</p><p>Grace laughed brightly, her eyes shining. She threw her arms around his middle and hugged his tight.<br/>
"Mahalo papa Steve."</p><p>Steve melted. He was loving this new nickname. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "Anything for you monkey."</p><p>She let go and ran off to get the knife and Steve was supposed to go and collect up the washing so he could get started on the laundry. He hesitated. He trusted that Grace could behave herself out here and be responsible in her game, but things went wrong very quickly and very easily. Loathe as he was to ruin the fun, it was safer if she came inside with him.</p><p>Between them they managed to find enough clothes to fill the washing machine at least three times over. They prioritized what needed to be clean together and left the rest in a large pile beside it. </p><p>"We gotta go get Charlie soon," Steve said, checking his watch.</p><p>"Can we throw a few more knives before then?" Grace asked, hopefully.</p><p>Steve smirked. "Why not? I think we've earned it!"</p><p>...</p><p>Charlie raced around the grass as he tried to chase down Steve. Grace was squealing with laughter and yelling encouragement to Steve to run faster. Steve ran at half the speed that he usually did to give Charlie a fighting chance. It has been a long, <em>long</em> time since Steve played tag but with he knew it was no fun if you couldn't catch the people you were chasing. Grace had played tag more recently and had found that the best strategy was to spend as much time on home as possible. Which is why it now had a fifteen second time limit. </p><p>However, Charlie had played tag very, very recently, and his tactic was tackling. The boy threw himself at Steve's leg, dragging him backwards and throwing him off balance. Steve went crashing to the ground with a humph. Grace and Charlie raced over to where he was laying in the grass.</p><p>"You okay Papa Steve?" Charlie asked, cautiously.</p><p>Steve coughed, winded, and forced his voice to work. "Yeah... yeah, I'm okay..."</p><p>He wasn't very convincing. Grace held out a hand to held pull him into sitting up. She patted his back to help him cough, clear his lungs and get his breath back. He gasped a couple of deep breaths and sighed. He looked up at Charlie. A flicker of mischief flickered in his eyes.</p><p>Steve linked an arm around Charlie's legs and yanked him down into his lap to tickle him.</p><p>"I've got you now! The tickle monsters got you! Now you're for it!" He teased.</p><p>Charlie squealed with laughter as Steve tickled him again. Grace giggled along with him right up until she felt Steve's hand on her shin. </p><p>That was where he went wrong.</p><p>One wriggling giggling child was easy to control, but two?</p><p>It took seconds for Grace to over power him. He found himself pinned down on the grass by Charlie while Grace ran her fingers across his chest, searching for the patches that made him squeal. His rib cage tensed when she reached a patch between his nipple and armpit. Her eyes lit up.</p><p>The kids giggled as maniacally as Steve as he howled with laughter and wriggled to get away. It wasn't easy to escape the claws of his captors when they were light enough to move with him as he dragged himself across the ground. There were tears in his eyes when he finally flipped Charlie down onto the grass beside him, leapt to his feet, and jogged away from them. </p><p>Grace sat back on her heels, giggling with Charlie as she watched Steve brush away the grass clinging to him. His nice white shirt was riddled with grass stains. <em>This is why I wear Khaki</em><span class="u">,</span> he thought. His phone started ringing and Charlie blinked in surprise to hear it so close to his head. He arched his back to reach out and pull it closer to him.</p><p>"It's school," He declared, and held it up above him.</p><p>The laughter died instantly. Grace stared at him as Steve answered it. His voice was low. She strained to hear it.</p><p>"McGarrett... yes I'm her guardian... no, I- ... but- ... I understand that, but in her defence-... no, no, don’t. I'll tell him. Yes. Thanks..."</p><p>His shoulders were tense and Grace's fell. He balled his hand around his phone like he wanted to scrunch it into a ball. She sighed.</p><p>"I'm not going in tomorrow am I?" </p><p>Steve turned back and gave her a sullen look. She bowed her head. This was expected, but it was going to make it harder to hide from her parents.</p><p>"What do we do now?" She asked.</p><p>Steve had no idea. They had already had dinner as a nice picnic in the garden, so they couldn't even distract themselves with food. Tickling didn't seem as fun anymore. The mood had died. And then... </p><p>"Hic."</p><p>Grace and Steve both blinked in surprise and turned their heads towards Charlie. He was still laying on his back in the grass staring up at the clouds. His chest twitched. </p><p>"Hic!"</p><p>"You got the hiccups there bud?" Steve asked, a small smile slowing growing as he did. "Y’know the only way to get rid of hiccups is to scare you right?" </p><p>Charlie's eyes widened. "Oh no."</p><p>He scrambled to his feet and took off for cover, heading straight out to the beach. Steve and Grace shared a look for a moment, and then took off after him. </p><p>Tomorrow was tomorrow. It could wait. Danny would be back in two days. He would never really know what happened while he was gone. They didn’t need to tell him the bad bits.</p><p>Instead, they could tell him all about catching Charlie in the sand and tossing him playfully into the shallows of the sea together.</p><p>Well it cured his hiccups!</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Day 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The best thing about waking up in newly laundered clothes is the warm feeling of cleanliness. Since Steve had decided it was too much effort to shower Charlie, he had let him run around getting dirtier and dirtier instead. Last night, after they rinsed off the sand, he decided that before Danny came home, Charlie was going to need a proper scrub down. But right now, he at least smelt cleaner than he was. </p><p>"It would be easier if he wasn’t so afraid of getting his face wet," Steve complained. </p><p>Grace reached across the table to grab the milk to fill her bowl of cereal. She had been awake for twenty minutes, and she had come downstairs in her pyjamas. Her school starts in about ten minutes. Today she didn’t have to go, and if there was one thing she appreciated, it was a full breakfast after a lie in.</p><p>"Stan uses goggles," she said. </p><p>"Goggles? Like swimming goggles?" Steve asked. </p><p>"Keeps shampoo out of his eyes. That's what he’s so worried about, it hurts," Grace nodded.</p><p>"I never thought I'd say this but Stan might have the right idea. But I don't have goggles," Steve said.</p><p>"They sell them at the Hilton. By the pool. With the slide. Where Danno used to take me all the time. Where Charlie would have so much fun he wouldn't notice his hair getting cleaned," Grace said, pointedly.</p><p>Steve smirked at her not-so-subtle hints, "You just want to go swimming don’t you?"</p><p>"It's not like I have anything better to do today. And it's a school day. There won't be so many people there," she insisted. </p><p>"Can Charlie swim?"</p><p>"Yeah, sort of. Way better than he can surf."</p><p>"We'll stay in the shallows."</p><p>"So we can go?!" She gasped, delighted.</p><p>Steve smiled softly at her grin. She always had such a beautiful smile. It lit up the world around her.</p><p>"Sure. Nothing better to do today, right?" He winked.</p><p>It would mean breaking into Danny's house again to find their swim suits but he was fairly certain it would be worthwhile. Honestly at this exact moment he was just glad that Charlie was still in bed, asleep. Steve was still exhausted and this short rest between him waking up and Charlie waking up was invaluable. </p><p>Charlie reminded Steve of a whirlwind. When he was awake, he didn't like to stand still. He liked to run around and make a mess and be unstoppable. Chasing after him was tiring but necessary. He was like Danny in that way. All go from the moment he got up.</p><p>Steve took a seat opposite Grace, and quietly picked up the coconut infused syrup to place in front of her. Grace picked it up without thinking and poured it over her pancakes. It was only after she bit into one when it clicked in her mind. </p><p>It was a long time ago now. So long even she had forgotten about it. Steve and Danny were bickering in the store about breakfast cereals and syrup and everything else they could find to bicker about. Danny was disgusted by the idea of coconut infused syrup. Steve loved it. To settle the argument they had Grace try both and decide her favourite. She hadn't <em>said</em> that she preferred the coconut one because Danny clearly didn't want her too. He was still clinging to the idea that she had more New Jersey in her than Hawaii. But there was a minute reaction that Steve picked up on before she remembered to control her tells. Even if Danny believed her when she said she didn't like it, Steve knew better.</p><p>Grace couldn't believe he remembered. </p><p>"Do you really want to go to the Hilton though? I could take you wild swimming in a lake underneath a waterfall- y’know as I say it I realise that Danny would not want me to take you there," he chuckled to himself.</p><p>It was a shame because he would have loved to share a little bit of his Hawaii with the kids. A secret spot from his childhood passed down to them. But their safety was paramount and he wasn't going to risk one of them (probably himself) breaking a leg while showing off and having to explain what happened to Danny.</p><p>Grace poked at her pancakes thoughtfully. Steve was always so sure of the way that Danny would want him to look after them. How <em>Danny</em> would react if they got hurt. Like he was their only parent. Which made her wonder if there was a reason Steve was trying to make it seem as though Danny was looking after them, and not him.</p><p>"Uncle Steve..." Grace began, curiously, but she stopped herself.</p><p>Steve arched an eyebrow at her. "Yeah Gracie?"</p><p>"Does mom know we're here?"</p><p>"Your- uh..."</p><p>It was a tough question. Steve had left communications with Rachel to Danny, as he usually did. Since she hadn't rushed back to O'ahu to take care of Grace like she had last time (Steve tried not to feel bitter but when Danny had almost died and he was utterly unable to help, the only solace he had was looking after Grace and then she took that away from him too and he had nothing but the fear that he could have lost Danny keeping him awake all night) so he assumed she didn’t know.</p><p>He wasn't certain that she didn’t know though.</p><p>She had made it abundantly clear that this was an important week for her and Stan. This was really a make or break trip. Maybe Danny had tried to reach out but she had ignored him. Steve thought she would have phoned just to check in if she did know but there was enough reasonable doubt to deny it.</p><p>"I don't know. I don't... I don’t think so," he admitted, "Danny was in a hurry when he left and he didn’t want her to worry. Why, what's wrong?"</p><p>"Nothing. She just texted to ask if everything was okay and I wondered if she knew where we were," she said. </p><p>"Oh. What did you tell her?" He asked, cautiously.</p><p>"That we were being looked after. I didn't say who by though," she shrugged.</p><p>He breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thinking."</p><p>"Mahalo. She doesn't know about me punching Cooper either."</p><p>"Good. I think."</p><p>"Or the knife throwing."</p><p>"Yeah... Maybe the less she and Danny know the better. They might not ever let me babysit again if they find out the truth."</p><p>"Then we can't let that happen."</p><p>Grace said it so casually, like she was just stating a fact, that she didn't notice the way Steve lit up to hear it. It was validating. No matter how often he thought he was making a mess of things, or how often her head teacher's words rattled in his head, he could push them away when she said things like that. Quiet admiration was the most striking kind. Grace picked a blueberry out of her pancakes and glanced up at her uncle, confused but not alarmed by the way he was smiling adoringly at her.</p><p>"You gonna go get Charlie up for breakfast?"</p><p>"Nah," Steve shrugged, kicking himself back into life,  "the longer he sleeps the less likely he is to need a nap and the more time we can spend in the pool."</p><p>They left enough mixture over to make sure that Charlie got a pancake when he woke up. While he was still asleep, Steve phoned the day care to let them know Charlie wouldn't be in today. It wasn't long after that that he did get up. Not long after <em>that</em> they were in the car on the way to Danny's place to get their swim gear.</p><p>"Remember not to leave a mess! He can't know we were-" a very loud smash from the kitchen cut Steve off. His chest fell as he finished, quietly, "here."</p><p>He walked into the kitchen to find Charlie crouching on a stool, looking down at a shattered glass bowl. Shards had gone all across the kitchen floor, in all directions. He looked up at Steve, eyes wide with alarm.</p><p>"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"</p><p>"Hey, hey now, calm down, it's okay. Are you hurt?"</p><p>"Um..." </p><p>Charlie looked down at himself, checking his exposed skin for any signs of blood. He shook his head and Steve breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>"Okay, that's alright then. Stay there, I'll come get you."</p><p>Steve was grateful that he'd put on his boots today. He was going to wear flip-flops around the pool - Grace begged him not to because he was look "like an old man or an embarrassing dad" and he had every intention of being that embarrassing dad just for her - but it was hard to drive in them. Boots were safer for dealing with glass.</p><p>He picked his way across the shards, which made them shift and shimmer slightly in the sunlight. The bowl had been the kind of tacky multi-coloured thing you usually found in an old lady's house full of hard boiled sweets that are impossible to find in any normal store. The glass was deep reds, blues and greens swirling into one another. Now on the floor, they had finally combined. </p><p>Charlie raised his arms as Steve got close, and Steve scooped him up carefully. The kid, like usual, was barefoot. He would have been seriously injured if he had tried to climb off of the chair.</p><p>"I just wanted a banana Papa, I didn't mean to knock the bowl," he pouted.</p><p>Charlie's eyes were wide with innocence and guilt. Steve's heart melted for him. He glanced back at the mess. Once, Danny had broken an old lady's cat figurine and Steve had spent hours painstakingly fixing it up again so she wouldn’t complain or attempt to sue them for it. This was beyond Steve's repair skills, but if he could forgive Danny breaking a figurine as a fully grown man, he could forgive Charlie. He was only a toddler. </p><p>Besides, Steve had beyond destroyed thousands of things in his life, from bombs in Afghanistan to shootouts in Waianae, and he had come to accept damage as expected. Injury though, injury was best to be avoided.</p><p>"As long as you're not hurt, that's all that matters, okay?" He assured Charlie. "We might have to buy Danno a new fruit bowl though."</p><p>"Danno loved that fruit bowl," Grace lied as she leaned in the doorway, admiring the mess. "It was great grandmas. She gave it to him as a wedding present when he married mom. It was the first piece of furniture in our apartment. He loved it."</p><p>Steve's chest heaved at the story and he groaned. It was just his luck that the thing that got broken on his watch was the irreplaceable fruit bowl.</p><p>"Really?" He groaned. </p><p>Grace giggled. Steve's eyes flicked up on her. She gave him a mischievous grin. Steve was sure if he was relieved or offended she'd managed to trick him. Either way he laughed.</p><p>"That was mean! You really had me worried for a second there!" He laughed.</p><p>Grace pretended to look apologetic, but there was a sparkle in her eyes. It warmed Steve to see it. It was a look Danny got sometimes. Usually before he played a dirty trick on Steve. Last time he saw it was a millisecond before Danny kicked him in the hip to shove him off of his surfboard and into the water so Danny could steal his wave.</p><p>"Just for that you’re helping clean up. Where's the dust pan and brush?" He declared. </p><p>Danny's recycling had a bin specifically for glassware which was useful. It was tricky trying to make sure all of the glass got out of the bag they had carried it to the bin in though. Steve took that role for himself. He figured if he got cut it wouldn't matter, but if the kids did all hell would break loose. In fact, he could picture the scene in his head. Steve sitting there on the couch with a broken arm in a cast, three stitches in his head, a dozen cuts and two dozen bruises, watching Danny rant at him because Grace got a paper cut. Steve chuckled at the idea, but it was one that was best avoided. </p><p>Steve looked back to see where Grace had gotten to. Grace was staring at the sign above the bin. She stared at the recycling logo. Intensely. He raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"You okay Gracie?"</p><p>"Yeah... they uh... yeah..."</p><p>Steve tilted his head curiously. "Gracie?"</p><p>She glanced up at him, and then back at the sign. "They were gonna tell us who won the logo competition today. I guess I won't find out till Monday now."</p><p>The disappointment in her tone was audible. Steve ran a hand sympathetically across her hair and rested it between her shoulder blades. He had no idea what to say, because it seemed like a petty thing to be upset over, but he still wanted to seem sympathetic. She looked up at him with wide, upset eyes, and his heart went out to her.</p><p>"I could get Tani to call the school and find out if you want?" He offered. </p><p>She shook her head. "No. I'll text someone later tonight and ask who won. I just have to wait even longer than everyone else to know."</p><p>"That's the point of this punishment Gracie. To miss out on things. C'mon, let's hit the pool and take your mind off it," he declared.</p><p>Grace snorted. Her uncle had some wild contractions about what punishments meant.</p><p>Charlie had gathered up his armbands, goggles, and pulled on his swimsuit (removing all other clothes to do so) while they were outside. He beamed at Steve, through the googles, and held up an uninflated armband. </p><p>"Will you blow this up?" He grinned.</p><p>Steve took it from him with a smirk. He threw it into the air, cupped his hands around it, and made an explosion sound with his mouth as he did. Then he grinned back at Charlie as it hit the floor. </p><p>"There. I blew it up!"</p><p>Charlie giggled and gave an exasperated sigh, which made Steve grin back wider. Even as a toddler he sounded just like Danny.</p><p>"<em>No Papa</em>! Not like that!"</p><p>"How then?" Steve grinned.</p><p>Charlie pouted. He knew he wasn’t very good at blowing things up by himself. He didn’t have the lung capacity yet, and even if he did, Rachel wouldn't let him put anything near his mouth that wasn’t deeply sanitized first. Even now the doctors said his immune system was regular she worried. Grace knew this. She said nothing, but she watched with concern as Charlie determinedly put the nozzle between his lips and blew hard until his cheeks turned pink. Nothing happened but he made himself woozy. </p><p>"Alright, alright, sit down before you cause any more damage," Steve teased. "Grace can you go get your swim gear while I redress your brother?"</p><p>"Sure thing. <em>Papa,"</em> Grace teased.</p><p>Steve grinned back. Part of him was convinced Danny was going to flip his lid if he heard the kids call him that, but the rest of him got a kick out of it every time. He was proud to hear it, more every time. He just had to figure out how to explain it to Danny. </p><p>Steve wrestled a shirt onto Charlie, and managed to get him to agree to wear the shirt until they reached the pool, so long as he got to wear his towel like a cape on the way there too. His towel, that Grace had dug out for him, had a little hood to cover his hair. It cascaded down his back like a cape anyway, so it wasn't a choking hazard, so Steve agreed to his terms.</p><p>This meant that a tall, muscular, attractive Navy SEAL in cargo shorts down to his knees and bright blue flip flops that smacked against the ground when he walked, entered the Hilton Village holding the hand of a barefoot toddler, already wearing his goggles on his head, on top of the towel he was using as a cape, and his arm bands fully inflated on his arms. They were followed - at some distance - by a deeply embarrassed girl clinging to a bag full of towels, hoping no one would guess she was with them.</p><p>It took a little bit of sweet talking, and a little bit of Charlie looking as cute as he possibly could, to convince the receptionist to let them use the pool for the next two hours. Only two mind. That's when her boss came back and if she found out that she had let non-paying guests into the pool she would be severely disciplined. That was all they needed.</p><p>However Charlie tugged on Steve's arm and whispered something in his ear that made Steve laugh and hand him a dollar. Charlie then hopped up on his tiptoes, clinging to the desk as he did, and reached out to drop the dollar into the tip jar tucked to the side of the desk. The receptionist cooed slightly, and allowed them an extra twenty minutes as long as they left straight from the pool to the carpark so her manager didn’t see. </p><p>"See kids, it always pays to be nice to the staff. They’re underpaid and overworked as it is, being kind and polite is the least they deserve," Steve said to the pair of them as they headed to the pool. He looked back to check Grace was still avoiding them, and loudly called, "keep up Grace!" </p><p>She buried her face behind her hair, hiding just how pink her cheeks had gone as he did. Honestly he was worse than Danny, and he seemed to be proud of it. </p><p>Once poolside, Steve held up a towel to give them a slight bit of privacy as they peeled off their clothes. Both of them were already wearing their swimsuits underneath, but dignity was important and Steve wanted to offer them what little he could. No offer was made - or wanted - when he pulled off his shirt though. He pretended not to notice two women at the other end of the pool sitting up and adjusting their sunglasses as he did. He rested his hands on his hips and looked down at the kids.</p><p>"Before we go in, one more time, what's the rules for being outside?" Steve asked firmly.</p><p>In unison the kids recited, "Always keep an eye on Charlie, never disappear for view unless you absolutely have to, never speak to strangers, always have your phone on and phone Danno the moment I need him, or hit the emergency button on my phone if it's big."</p><p>Steve wrinkled his nose. They wouldn't have their phones in the water. Even if they did, they couldn't call Danny for help while he was in New Jersey. </p><p>"Close enough, but if you're in trouble just shout my name and I'll come running," Steve said firmly.</p><p>"You’re not allowed to run by a pool Papa Steve, it's against the rules," Charlie warned him.</p><p>Steve's initial instinct was to inform Charlie that rules rarely applied to him, but he thought better of it. Encouraging a child to break rules didn’t seem like a good idea.</p><p>"Then I will swim <em>quickly.</em> Trust me, I can, I'm a SEAL," Steve winked.</p><p>"Can we get in the pool now?" Grace whined impatiently. </p><p>Steve smirked again. It amazed him how much two children could be like one curmudgeonly old man, and so different to him at the same time.</p><p>"Better be quick, we've only got two hours!" Steve warned.</p><p>They grinned. They had chosen a deck chair at the deep end of the pool for two reasons. Firstly it was nearer the gate for a quick escape if needed, and secondly, for safety. Grace jumped in first, as she usually did. She sank below the water level, soaking herself fully and instantly. When she reached the surface she gasped for air and complained about the cold.</p><p>This wasn't great for Steve. He had to bite his tongue to stop himself from scolding her for not allowing time for the cold shock to pass before reacting to escape to the surface. Logically he knew that it was safe to do so here because it wasn't very cold, there was a life guard nearby, and he was watching if she really needed help. However it was so ingrained into him that cold water shock had to pass before risking movement that a kick of panic hit his chest when she didn't.</p><p>He didn’t have time to articulate any of that though, because once Grace swam into position, she held out her arms. The moment she did, Charlie leapt into the water. He landed close to Grace, but not fully in her arms like intended. That didn’t matter though because his armbands held him up and she swept him into her arms to support them. She couldn't touch the bottom and had to tread water to keep herself afloat, but she held Charlie up so he felt safe.</p><p>"I jumped in Papa Steve, did you see me, I jumped all by myself, did you see?!" Charlie beamed excitedly. </p><p>"I saw!" Steve forced a grin back.</p><p>He had never before been concerned about water. Well, not like this anyway. A very strong tide in the middle of the icy Atlantic in a storm that had their boat pelted with rain and hail and at the mercy of waves ten foot high, yes. A calm, warm, chlorinated pool that came to his shoulders at it's deepest, not so much.</p><p>But with both kids jumping in like cold water shock didn’t exist, he was concerned.</p><p>If anything happened to them he'd never forgive himself. If anything happened to them on his watch he'd never consider himself forgivable. If anything happened on his watch, <em>in water</em>, it didn't bare thinking about. It was Danny's biggest fear and something Steve was supposed to be fully trained for, so it could never be allowed. </p><p><em>No pressure though</em>. The voice in his head was cocky. Sarcastic. It sounded like Danny.</p><p>"Come on in Uncle Steve, don’t be chicken!" Grace teased.</p><p>The sparkle in her tone snapped him away from his spiralling thoughts. Above them the morning sun was glittering off of the ripples each movement caused, and it still paled to how brightly she beamed. Naturally he grinned back.</p><p>"A chicken?!" He scoffed, grinning, "could a chicken do this?!"</p><p>Steve dove expertly into the depths of the pool with hardly any splash. He swam low, wriggling his legs like on long tail to propel himself forward. It took him a moment to adjust to the way the chlorine stung his eyes as he opened them, but he did. He needed to to adjust his position. Steve circled the floating ducks like an ominous darkness, too close for either of them to see. Then he brushed against Grace's foot and she squealed. Unaware of what was going on, Charlie shouted in alarm. Then he felt something touch his hand. He yelped. Grace thrashed to get away but it was too late!</p><p>Steve latched onto both of them as he rose fast and burst from the water, carrying both of them with him. They squealed with laughter. High pitched giggles brimming with alarm. Their hearts were already racing, and they loved it. Steve beamed as he ran a hand across his face to dry his eyes.</p><p>"How’s that for chicken?!"</p><p>Grace and Charlie squealed in his arms, giggling insanely already. He dropped them both back into the water one at a time. Charlie went first, because he could float. Grace knew what was coming though and she clung to him like an octopus refusing to leave it's perch. She yelled between laughs, refusing to let him drop her below the surface, so he grinned.</p><p>Slowly, he began to sink. She was still in his arms and it took her a moment to realise what was happening. The moment she did she squirmed to escape but it was too late. Steve took a deep breath and squatted, dunking Grace into the water as he went.</p><p>He rose just as quickly as he dropped, and she sputtered and shoved herself away from him, gasping for air. Her hair was clinging across her face, across her eyes, and she had to reached for the side to keep herself afloat. Steve swam over to Charlie to keep him close as Grace heaved herself out of the pool.</p><p>"You okay Grace?" Steve called, concerned.</p><p>"I can't see!" She complained.</p><p>She swept the curtain of hair back out of her face. Danny always had hairbands in his car for emergencies like this. It was frustrating to her that she didn’t have one now.</p><p>"All you need is something to hold your hair back, right?" Steve asked. Grace nodded. "Well that can't be too hard to find, hold on."</p><p>"Uncle Steve I'm not gonna wear some strangers water clogged hair band that you found at the bottom of the pool!" Grace warned drily.</p><p>His shoulders sagged. He had forgotten who her father was. Hair was a precious thing to a Williams and he should have known better. </p><p>"Then let me think," he said.</p><p>Steve thought back to a story Catherine had told him once. She had cut her head badly while on a mission and they had nothing to hold it together, so Billy, her boyfriend at the time, knotted her hair together to close the wound. Between that and watching Kono style her hair before and after surfing, Steve could think of one possible solution. He heaved Charlie out of the water and followed quickly to sit behind Grace. </p><p>"Do you trust me?" He asked. </p><p>"What?" She frowned.</p><p>"Do you trust me?"</p><p>It's a funny think, self preservation. Any other time, Grace wouldn't hesitate to say she trusted Steve. She wouldn’t hesitate in trusting him blindly without even thinking. In fact, the fact she did trust him had saved her life more than once now. But the moment he <em>asked</em> if she trusted him, that trust went out of the window.</p><p>"Why?!"</p><p>"Because I have an idea that should work but it might tangle your hair up as it dries."</p><p>She hummed uncertainly. "Can we swing by Danno's again to get his smoothing conditioner?"</p><p>"No need, there's some in the bathroom cupboard," Steve said.</p><p>Grace frowned, "There is?"</p><p>"He wouldn't stop bitc- uh, complaining about his hair after surfing so I brought some for him."</p><p>"Oh. Then yeah, okay, do it."</p><p>Steve knelt down as Grace shuffled forward. Her legs hung over the edge of the pool as she sat on the rim and let Steve part her hair carefully. He was gentle. He had to be gentle. In fact he was slightly nervous. Danny had ranted at him for hours about respect and personal appearance when Steve messed up his hair - usually accidentally, but sometimes if he was really winding Steve up, it was worth the lecture just to annoy him back - so this meant a lot. This was trust. He had to do his best to get this right for her sake. Steve frowned hard as he tried to remember what Kono had showed him.</p><p>
  <em>"The trick is to keep your hair separated like this-" </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kono tilted her head to show him how she parted her hair. It was swept up into a low ponytail with one hand, but she pulled a quarter of it apart, separating her hair into two stands. He watched, curiously. </em>
</p><p><em>"Now this hand-" she shook the smaller strand, "you can loop like this. You have to keep it in a loop with this hand. This loop</em> becomes<em> your hairband! See?"</em></p><p>
  <em>Steve watched with growing fascination as Kono wrapped her hair through the smaller loop of hair repeatedly, like a hairband. She pulled it tight.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"And then, it holds it in place, like so."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She let go, and it fell like a normal ponytail, keeping her hair cleared out of her face. Steve blinked in wonder. He had seen Kono do many amazing things before, but turning her own hair into a beauty product, without the hair of a mirror, while floating on a surfboard, waiting for a wave, was in a category of it's own. She chuckled when she saw the look of shock on his face.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's easier than it looks, believe me."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"That's awesome, but I think I'll stick to a crew cut. Its easier to manage!"</em>
</p><p>"Loop through, like that-" Steve mumbled under his breath. He tightened it, gently, and whispered, "oh please work."</p><p>Steve winced as he let go of her hair. He had been expecting it to completely unfurl and fall apart. Much to his surprise, it didn’t. </p><p>"Hey! Look at that! It worked!" He grinned. </p><p>Grace's hand flew to her hair. Sure enough it sat in a ponytail across her shoulders. Grace whipped around to stare at Steve like he had performed a magic trick.</p><p>"How did you- <em>how</em> <em>did you do that</em>?!" She demanded.</p><p>Steve grinned back, "I'll ask Kono to show you because I have no idea!"</p><p>Grace blinked at him again, in complete awe. Just when she thought she understood Steve, he went and pulled something new out of his bag.</p><p>Charlie, meanwhile, had plonked himself down on Steve's ankles, and was poking curiously at his back, along the waistband.</p><p>"Uncle Steve why have you got pictures on your skin?" He asked, curiously.</p><p>Steve twisted at his hips and raised an arm to try and look back at him. "They're called tattoos bud."</p><p>"Ooh," Charlie said, as if that cleared everything up, but it clearly didn’t. "They're pretty." </p><p>"Uh, thanks..."</p><p>Steve tried to pretend that pretty is what he had been going for back when he was twenty and being stabbed with needles in as many ports as possible to prove he'd travelled the world.</p><p>"When do they come off?" Charlie asked.</p><p>Steve frowned. "Huh?"</p><p>"The pictures that Grace gives me come off in a few days. When do these come off?" He asked.</p><p>Steve blinked. He glanced at Grace for clarification. </p><p>"Temporary tattoos. Y’know, get em wet and stick em on," Grace slapped her arm as if that cleared things up.</p><p>"Well these aren’t temporary. They’re permanent," Steve explained.</p><p>"Like markers?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"Uh, I guess? Except if you use hand sanitizer permanent marker comes off. The only way to get these off is with a laser," Steve explained. </p><p><em>"Cool!</em> I want tattoos when I grow up too!" Charlie beamed.</p><p>"Mmm, when you’re very grown up maybe," Steve grimaced. </p><p>He couldn't imagine a world where Danny would be pleased that Steve had accidentally encouraged his son to get tattoos. He had no idea what Danny's objections would be, but he'd find them. Many of them. Any man who would file a police report because his trees got covered in toilet paper at Halloween would find objections to anything. </p><p>They headed towards the shallower end of the pool together after that, so Grace could show off her underwater handstands. Once she had made Steve join in and fall over (twice) she and Charlie went off to join the line for the slide. </p><p>Swimming was different when there were kids involved, Steve discovered. Usually he'd swim out into the ocean for exercise. The weightlessness meant that he needed to put more effort into his actions to drag himself back to shore. Swimming with kids was less about swimming and more about being in the water. Being cooled off by it, splashing each other, going as far down as possible before the lower gravity dragged you back up to the surface. It was about holding your breath for as long as possible and doing gymnastic easier. It was about going down the slides on your stomach and screaming with laughter as you plunged head first back into the pool.</p><p>It was fun.</p><p>All kids cared about was the good parts of life. As much as he liked to pretend otherwise, Steve had forgotten how to just <em>enjoy</em> the water. Everything was about exercise or competition or showing off in some way. The kids didn't care about that. To them - Charlie in particular - it was about how wet they could get their hair without putting their face under. </p><p>Steve smiled as Charlie went whizzing down the slide towards him. Steve was ready to catch him, but he figured it was now or never. When Charlie hit the pool,  Steve caught him, and quickly dunked his head under water, before snatching him back up. Charlie was under the water and back out in the blink of an eye, and it was probably the cleanest he had been all week. Charlie coughed as Steve carried him back towards the main pool so Grace could come down safely.</p><p>"That was so cool Charlie! You came down that slide all by yourself!" Steve beamed.</p><p>Charlie beamed back, "I wanna go again!"</p><p>Six times. Six times the two kids went down that slide. Six times Steve caught Charlie. Six times Grace fought the urge to yell, "did you see me uncle Steve?!" and six times he beamed proudly as he watched her come down the slide. She didn't want to sound like her toddler brother, demanding attention, but she craved it, and she relished the fact that Steve paid attention every time regardless. </p><p>Their two hours slipped by like sand out of a hand and they spent their last ten minutes floating in the deep end as Steve showed them how to dive in properly. Then he scooped them both out of the pool from underneath. </p><p>Steve bundled Charlie up in his towel, wrapping him up like a burrito before tugging his hood over his head. Grace pulled her towel around her shoulders like a blanket. Steve chuckled at them. They looked cold and exhausted and thrilled. He picked up their bags and their shoes, and ushered them out of the side gate towards the truck. </p><p>"But we're not dry! Or dressed!" Charlie argued as they went.</p><p>The soggy footprints trailing behind them were testimony to his argument. </p><p>"I know," Steve said.</p><p>"Then what are we doing?! We should go back and -"</p><p>"You want a shave ice?"</p><p>"Yeah!"</p><p>Steve chuckled. He loved that about Charlie. He was as opinionated as his father, but he'd forget all about that for the sake of food. Steve heaved their stuff into the back of his truck and lowered the back of it.</p><p>"Alright, you two wait in here and dry off in the sun and I'll be right back," he declared. </p><p>Grace picked up Charlie and pushed him into the back of the truck before climbing in herself. It took slightly more effort for her to do so, and a lot less dignity, but she rolled in onto the floor as Charlie giggled at her. </p><p>From their new vantage point, perched on top of the metal chest mounted to his truck, Grace watched Steve go. He didn't go far. In fact he went to the first shave ice stand he saw. Grace wrinkled her nose.</p><p>She wasn’t raised to pinch pennies, but she had been raised frugal. She knew that a shave ice stand right next to the Hilton Village <em>and</em> Waikiki beach was going to be far more expensive than it was worth. Going down the road to Kamekona's, or further into town away from the tourists could easily save him some cash. </p><p>But he was doing something nice, and it wasn't polite to complain, so she took the shave ice from him with a smile. She felt like she should try and finish all of it so it wasn’t wasted money, but it was bigger than she was expecting. Steve picked up a bucket and turned it upside down to sit on as they ate. Charlie practically slurped it, but Grace picked at it quietly. Steve eyed her.</p><p>"What's with the face? Is the blue cotton candy bringing back bad memories? You can have my Bahama mama if you wanna trade," he offered.</p><p>Grace glanced up and forced a smile. "No, I love blue cotton candy."</p><p>"That's what I thought," he smiled back. His faded as he realised hers was fake. "Y’know you can talk to me about anything right Gracie? No judgement. What's on your mind?"</p><p>Grace picked at the ice and clenched her jaw slightly. "I uh... I'm not sure Waikiki beach is a good place to buy shave ice."</p><p>"Not a good place to buy- look around you, there’s a dozen shave ice stalls here. This is a great place to buy it," Steve joked.</p><p>"It's expensive though," she muttered.</p><p>Steve tilted his head at her, curiously. It might have been slightly cheaper down the road, but he didn’t understand why that concerned her.</p><p>"But it's worth it to have a nice snack after the pool, right?" He said. "Its worth it if it makes you smile."</p><p>It felt like a waste of money, and if Danny was there, he would have made them go to Kamekona's because at least there it was cheaper. <em>Stan</em> would buy them treats from here though. He would buy them the biggest, most expensive thing he could find for them, and show it off to Rachel when they got home. Then Grace would go to bed and hear them arguing in loud whispers because Stan was wasting money again. She remembered one argument that really stuck in her head.</p><p>
  <em>Grace was laying awake staring at the ceiling as she listened to the argument downstairs. They were trying to keep their voices down, like Rachel and Danny always had back in Jersey. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You always do this! Why would you buy Charlie that much junk, we don’t have the space for it!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm sorry that I want my son to love me!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"He'll love you if you’re there for him, you don’t have to buy crap we don’t need-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I can't be there for him if I'm in Vegas and he’s here with you can I?!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's not my fault Danny wants to spend time with his daughter! Good fathers do that instead of just buying their children's affections like that would work-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Why not, it worked with you!"</em>
</p><p><em>There was silence for a moment before Stan desperately tried to back pedal and take back what he had said. Grace didn't hear her mothers voice but she heard her footsteps on the stairs. She heard her bedroom door slam. Since then, Grace had been wary of Stan's presents</em>.</p><p>"You don't have to buy our affections. We already love you," Grace muttered.</p><p>Steve straightened up in surprise. His spoon slid out of his mouth at the accusation.</p><p>"I'm... I'm not - I'm not trying to buy your affection Gracie. I just thought since we're all too damp to get back in the car we could dry out here in the back instead, and we could have some snacks for a treat. This is in no way a bribe to get you to love me, okay?" He promised, earnestly.</p><p>Grace eyed him, cautiously. "So you won't be mad if I don't finish this?"</p><p>"Mad? Of course not. I wasn't mad when you ate the whole cotton candy planet and threw up on my shoes and I won't be mad if you throw away half of a shave ice instead of throwing up, I promise!" He almost laughed at the idea.</p><p>Grace's chest eased. It made it easier to swallow - literally - knowing that no one would get annoyed if she didn't eat the whole thing. Steve was about to ask her why it bothered her so much when Charlie hissed in pain.</p><p>"OH NO! BWAIN FWEEZE!"</p><p>Steve looked down at him and let out a laugh at the way he screwed up his face. Steve had plenty of experience making faces like that. </p><p>"Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth to warm up your brain and it'll go away," he advised. </p><p>Charlie did what he said, and within a few moments, he relaxed again. Then he carried on shovelling ice down his throat until it happened again. Grace burst into laughter when it did. Steve grinned. He loved her laugh.</p><p>By the time they got home they had only narrowly avoided the traffic of school home time. Since Grace didn't have any homework to do and Charlie had been up all day, Steve decided he would put Charlie down for a nap and give Grace some attention.</p><p>"Wanna play poker?" He asked.</p><p>"It's less fun with two," she said.</p><p>"We can play for cookies. I picked up a packet at the shave ice stand."</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>Charlie's room (or Junior's, depending on how you looked at it) looked out towards the side of the house. With the window open they could sit on the lalani and hear if he woke up and needed them. They sat across from each other as the afternoon sun warmed them and the salty sea breeze swirled around them. Steve dealt the first hand.</p><p>"So, who's trying to buy your affection?" He asked, curiously. </p><p>Grace tapped her cards against the table as she leaned back in the wooden chair. This one was slightly different to the others on the lalani. The others were all weather beaten and worn. This one was more cared for. It had a cushion that none of the others did. It was also one that Steve tended to unofficially save for Danny. If Grace leaned back far enough she could catch a whiff of her fathers cologne on the wicker.</p><p>"No one," she said, honestly.</p><p>Steve eyed her. She tossed a chocolate chip onto a plate in front of them to raise the bet. He hummed thoughtfully and met her bet.</p><p>"Where did you hear about that then?"</p><p>"TV, I guess. There's a lot of drama about gold diggers on some show Stan watches..."</p><p>The way she twitched when she mentioned his name told Steve a lot. It was a slight catch, like she was worried she'd said too much by just mentioning him. Steve pretended not to notice.</p><p>"Gold diggers like mining?" Steve joked.</p><p>Grace frowned in confusion, "No, like black widow brides."</p><p>Steve's eyes snapped onto her, "Black widow brides?"</p><p>She nodded, "Women who marry rich men to murder them for the inheritance."</p><p>Steve blinked at her. "You and Danno talk about work too much."</p><p>Grace shrugged, "He likes to talk about work and the ohana. And you."</p><p>Again she raised her bet. Steve wasn't about to let her intimidate or distract him. No matter how tempting. </p><p>"Stan's in Vegas a lot right? He must see a lot of people who have money to spend," he said.</p><p>"He says so," Grace nodded, "he says he sees people who are only together because it's Vegas. People who would never ever date, who get married because everything's different on the mainland."</p><p>"That's true, everything is different on the mainland."</p><p>"People are different on the mainland too. I don't remember much of New Jersey but every time we go back it seems a lot different. Everyone knows Danno's name in Newark. Everyone treats me like I'm special for knowing him."</p><p>"Do you miss it?"</p><p>"No. It's weird. It's like I have a family there and a family here. The family there are my blood relatives, but the family here are people I love."</p><p>"You always want to stick close to people you love."</p><p>"That's why Mom's on the mainland. Because she does love Stan."</p><p>Grace turned over her cards as they reached the end of their hand. Steve turned his over. Grace snorted. </p><p>"I win. You owe me a cookie."</p><p>Steve smiled and nodded. She might have won the game, but he knew more than she thought now. It didn't take an interrogation expert to uncover what she thought she was hiding, but he was one, so it helped. </p><p>"Let's go again."</p><p>Three hands of poker and three cookies later, Grace was feeling pretty good. Whatever lingering doubts that she had had been soothed without her noticing. Now she was ready to sit down and eat her cookies in front of the tv.</p><p>The importance of order, discipline, and a strict schedule was not lost on Steve. Although he hadn't really anticipated just how much energy Charlie would have after waking up from his nap. He was bouncing in his seat as Steve served dinner which didn’t bode well for bedtime. Adjusting Charlie's sleep schedule by just a few hours was something he regretted now. No wonder Danny had put in all capitals in his texted schedule:</p><p>"DO NOT LET HIM SLEEP LONGER THAN NECESSARY!" </p><p>Necessary was a relative term. One Steve hadn't been trained to judge. It was trial and error really, but he learned from his mistake. Steve filled Charlie's stomach with a pasta bake that Grace helped (taught) him make, scrubbed his hair with Danno's special conditioner while he wore goggles in the shower, and dressed him in freshly laundered pyjamas. Now Charlie was hunting down a book that he was <em>certain</em> had been packed into his bag, while Steve stripped the bed. The bed was full of crumbs and bundled full of mess, and it needed new sheets.</p><p>"Found it!" Charlie cried from underneath the bed.</p><p>"Awesome buddy!" Steve grinned. He tossed a pillow towards him, "Hold this."</p><p>Charlie dropped the book to catch the pillow and Steve chuckled to himself. His reflexes were good, even though the pillow was almost the same size as him. </p><p>"Here," he tossed a pillow case at him too. "Do you know how to do this?"</p><p>"Um..."</p><p>"Watch."</p><p>Steve used another pillow to show him how to change pillow cases. Charlie copied him. It was a struggle for him, his arms were much smaller than Steve's. Wriggling the case over a pillow almost as long as him was tricky but he managed it.</p><p>"Good job! Now chuck it here," Steve said. </p><p>Charlie threw the pillow at him with all his might and Steve still had to stoop to catch it.</p><p>"Nice arm! You've been practicing with Kamekona huh? Playing baseball like Gracie?"</p><p>Charlie nodded eagerly. "Uncle Kamekona says he'll make space for me in the peewee leagues as soon as I turn five!"</p><p>"He will?! That's great man, that means you can start looking towards the big leagues. Y’know I watched a couple of your sister's games. If Kamekona's your coach you’re in good hands."</p><p>"Will you come and watch my games too?!"</p><p>"Um-" </p><p>Steve's face twisted as he remembered a very loud and very public argument with Kamekona that got him banned from the bleachers, much to Grace's relief. She told him she already had one embarrassing dad on the field she didn't need two.</p><p>Although when Steve had calmed down (a week later) he dared to swallow his pride and publically apologise to Kamekona too. Kamekona forced him to wear a shirt with his face on it and help Jerry hand out flyers advertising the shrimp van for two hours to make them even. He was, after all, a public figure. An argument as public and humiliating as theirs needed to be put right. Steve swallowed his pride again and did it. After all, friends like Kamekona didn’t come along very often, and it wasn't worth losing him over a kids baseball game. Besides, at least he had Jerry for company, and Danny had the pictures to prove it. </p><p>"Uncle Steve? You've been quiet for a long time. Don't you wanna come to my games?" Charlie pouted. </p><p>"What?! What are you nuts, of course I wanna come to your games! I just have to ask Uncle Kamekona if I'm allowed," Steve said.</p><p>Charlie lit up again. Steve climbed up onto the bed and lifted Charlie up beside him.</p><p>"Alright, we've got clean sheets, clean clothes, clean Charlie-" Steve tickled his belly, making him giggle, "What do we need now to go to sleep?"</p><p>"Check for monsters," Charlie said, nervously.</p><p>"Ah yes, check for monsters," Steve nodded.</p><p>He stood up again and stretched. He was getting old, even if he didn’t like to admit it, and the floor was a long way down. Just kneeling down to check under the bed made his back ache if he didn't stretch a little first. </p><p>"Nope, nothing under here."</p><p>He grunted as he got back up and headed to the cupboard. He opened the door enough to peep his head through and hummed. His voice was muffled by the cupboard. </p><p>"Nothing in here either. Look-"</p><p>Steve pulled back and let the door swing wide to show Charlie it was empty and there was nothing to worry about. Charlie eased his grip on the covers as his nerves settled. Steve shut the door again and laid back across the bed.</p><p>"What we got next huh? A story?"</p><p>Charlie nodded. He reached across the bed and pulled the book towards him to push it against Steve's chest. Steve settled in, linked an arm around Charlie, and opened the book.</p><p>"Lets see what we've got here. Can you read this? Huh? You reading yet? Maybe I can help - Tuh, huh, eh-"</p><p>"The?"</p><p>"Good boy! The, so next word, buh, ooh, yuh-"</p><p>"B-oy? Boy?"</p><p>"Yeah! I thought you said you couldn't read, you're doing great! The, boy-"</p><p>"Wuh-"</p><p>"Close, but this one you say huh more. Huh, ooooo. H-ooo. Who."</p><p>"Who. The boy who cr-cried wolf!"</p><p>"Amazing! Absolutely amazing! You’re a genius kid!"</p><p>Charlie beamed proudly and giggled. He didn't feel the need to tell Steve that Rachel and Stan had read him this story so many times he knew it by heart and wasn’t actually reading. He was just content with Steve tugging him a little closer and turning the page to start the story. </p><p>Steve strolled down the stairs and dropped down onto the couch beside Grace with a sigh.</p><p>"Well he's finally down," he said.</p><p>"What'd you read him, The Boy Who Cried Wolf?" Grace asked, without looking away from the TV.</p><p>Steve raised his head from the back of the couch and frowned at her, "yeah. How did you-"</p><p>"It's his favourite. He has it memorized. You should hear him recite it while in the tub. The first few times it was cute, now its just annoying," she said.</p><p>Steve's shoulders sagged. He really thought he'd helped Charlie learn to read. More fool him he guessed.</p><p>"Hey, can you help me please? I can't undo my hair, can you try?" Grace asked hopefully. </p><p>"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah sure," Steve said.</p><p>Grace slipped off of the couch and down onto the floor by his feet. Steve sat up as she held up a hairbrush for him to take. He set it on his knee to use later. He had to be careful as he tried to tug her hair loose. Neither of them wanted any to fall out. Steve was more concerned about hurting her, but Grace was staunchly against her hair falling out and would risk the pain to ensure it didn’t. Steve was gentle as he worked her hair free and it finally tumbled down across her shoulders. He hummed as she breathed a sigh of relief. Parts of it were still damp from the pool and it was a little concerned to him.</p><p>"Hold still, I'll work out some of the knots I just caused," he said.</p><p>"Thanks papa. I wasn't sure what I would have done if I had to cut it off," she smiled warmly.</p><p>"Well I withstand you'd look cute with a buzz cut," he smiled back.</p><p>She laughed. Steve's soft smile warmed as she did. He was exhausted and disappointed that Charlie hadn't miraculously learned to read, but little moments like this made it all worth it.</p><p>"I'm gonna shower and put on my pyjamas," she declared as he set down the hairbrush again.</p><p>"Danno's shampoo is in the cupboard," Steve said as he slouched into the couch.</p><p>Grace knelt across the seat and laid a hand on his chest to stabilise herself as she kissed his cheek.</p><p>"Mahalo uncle Steve."</p><p>Steve's eyes widened as she skipped off, unphased. She had no idea how she had just melted Steve's heart. If he hadn't loved those kids before - which he had, enormously - he would had fallen head over heels now. Steve smiled to himself as he settled in again. </p><p>Those kids were growing up great. Even after everything they'd been through. Charlie had gotten over his illness marvellously. You'd never imagine that kid had ever been sick. And Grace was smart as a whip and kind as an angel. She was going to be amazing. </p><p>Of course she wasn't quite a teenager yet. The moodiness and hormones hadn’t hit her yet. But those days were coming fast. It was an uphill battle too, from what he'd heard.</p><p>She was going to become so much more independent and out there in the world alone and then, then how would he protect her? How could he make sure that nothing bad happened to her if he wasn’t there to stop it? But if he was there, would he be stunting her development?</p><p>Kids have to fall before they can learn to pick themselves up after all.</p><p>Steve tossed over uncomfortably. The whole world was dangerous and just because everything was okay right now didn’t mean it couldn't spiral out of control in a matter of seconds. Then who knows what would happen! No wonder Danny always looked exhausted. The weight of worry on his shoulders must have been excruciating. </p><p>Steve shifted again.</p><p>No matter how hard he tried he couldn't quiet settle his thoughts. He considered calling Danny again, but he didn’t want to add to his worry. Although they were a partnership. His worries were Danny's worries, and right now, it felt like Danny's worries were Steve's. </p><p>The kids were going to keep growing and he had no idea what to expect next. All he knew for sure was he was going to stick around to help out.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Updates ASAP not sure when</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Day 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Saturday's are for sleeping, so with that in mind, Steve locked the back door, tucked his keys safely under the cushion on Danny's lalani chair, and headed for the ocean. As long as the kids were asleep and didn’t wake up till he got home, everything would be fine. Sleep had avoided him last night and the sun was only beginning to rise as he picked his way across the cold sand.</p><p>The shock of the freezing water stole away any exhaustion still in his body, but he knew it wouldn't last forever. He was still exhausted, and it was still early. Only the last fishing boats were heading out for the day. If Steve went out too far he could easily become unable to get back to shore.</p><p>In the depths of the ocean, Steve was alone for the first time since Tuesday. He rarely swam on his back but he did today. He wanted to look up and breath as he moved through the water. Out here in the waves he could clear his mind. It needed clearing.</p><p>Danny would be home tomorrow and Steve was torn between wanting him home and not. </p><p>On the one hand, he missed Danny. Whenever Danny wasn’t sitting right beside him he missed him. He hated that Danny was having to fight the courts to settle a case he had already won. He hated that he had to go to New Jersey alone to do it. He hated when Danny went to New Jersey anyway - he hated how homesick it made him when he got back to Hawaii - but when he wasn’t there to support him, it made him feel worse.</p><p>Steve wanted to be supportive.</p><p>He wanted to be there for Danny. More than that he wanted this to be over. For Danny to be back home with him and the kids, joking around together.</p><p>But Danny would take the kids away. </p><p>As exhausting - physically and emotionally - as this week had been, it had also been the most fun he'd had in a long time too. Having a spare room for Junior had been useful, and he liked having him around as a roommate, but the kids were a whole other level. They were <em>family.</em> As demanding as that was, it really felt like he was loved, and he really loved them right back. More than ever.</p><p>Part of him wondered if he could clear out the spare rooms and turn them into kids rooms without Danny questioning him. </p><p>If Danny would just agree to move in with him again, to stay with him, the kids were more than welcome to move in too. Full time. But Danny wanted space. At least he said he did. He was always at Steve's anyway, but he wanted to have his own place to escape to too.</p><p>Which was fine.</p><p>Really.</p><p>Steve didn't even consider taking it personally.</p><p>Not at all.</p><p>Honest...</p><p>Steve sighed as he dragged himself back up the beach. If the kids were going home with Danny tomorrow then tomorrow all the rules came back too.</p><p>They needed to make the most of their last day together. </p><p>Steve fished the keys out from under the cushion and dried his hair on the towel he'd left on top of it. As he pressed the key into the lock, he paused. Something wafted through the air. Something rich, warm and familiar. Refreshing. </p><p>Coffee.</p><p>Steve frowned. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. The scent of freshly brewed coffee swept across to him. He followed the smell curiously. The closer he got to the kitchen, the stronger it got. It tangled with a citrus perfume as he reached the kitchen. </p><p>Through the kitchen window, the sunlight had reached inside. It trickled in, warming the room with a soft golden glow. There was a quiet clattering that was trying to stay hushed. Curiously Steve crept closer. </p><p>He heard a sharp intake of breath as Grace muttered to herself, "Oh, damn!" </p><p>Steve's chest eased to know it was just her. No monsters had snuck in during the night. Though they didn't tend to make coffee. </p><p>He leaned quietly in the door frame to watch her go. She had dropped a knife on the floor and bent down to pick it up, setting it in the dishwasher as she rose again. Grace grabbed another knife from the drawer on her way to the fridge to find the butter. Steve watched her catch the toast as it popped out of the  toaster and set it on a plate. She dropped two more pieces of bread into it, and cut into the butter to set a chunk onto a plate. Then she picked up the coffee pot, poured some into a cup, and pulled a face as she dropped a chunk of butter in it.</p><p>Steve chuckled to himself as she did. She really took after her old man and definitely didn't approve of butter in coffee either. The noise caught her attention as she gasped when she saw him standing there. </p><p>"Oops. Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he said.</p><p>Grace scowled. She set her hand on her hip and gestured at him with her butter knife. "You’re supposed to be in bed! I was going to make breakfast and fetch the paper and have it all ready to go when you got up! You've ruined it!"</p><p>Steve's smile didn't fade. If anything it grew. Because while you might get a cup of coffee or some store brought baked goods from Danny if you were lucky, <em>Jerry</em> would make you a full breakfast buffet. Grace had been spending far more time with her extended ohana than Danny let on. For someone who didn't even like Hawaii, he'd sure built a decent sized ohana here.</p><p>"I didn't ruin anything, in fact pass me that coffee."</p><p>Grace wrinkled her nose at the cup again, but picked it up anyway. She handed it to Steve and gagged as she watched him drink. He moaned happily.</p><p>"Mmm. Gorgeous."</p><p>Grace set her hand on her hip and allowed all her hair to fall over one shoulder as she shifted her weight onto one leg. A simple act that made her the picture of Rachel. </p><p>"Y'know caffeine and saturated fats are two of the leading causes of heart damage. The fat builds up the cholesterol in your arteries and the caffeine makes your blood flow faster and get caught on your cholesterol, making your blood pressure higher until your heart gives up!"</p><p>"Maybe, but it tastes good," Steve teased.</p><p>Grace looked unimpressed. "Uncle Steve you should be more careful about your diet. Danno cut his fat intake by half and now he's healthier than ever. Maybe you should too."</p><p>"I eat healthily! I taught you how to make fruit salad like this, remember?" Steve tilted the fruit salad towards her.</p><p>She shifted sheepishly. "Yeah..."</p><p>"And I made you your first fruit smoothie. And we went searching for edible seaweed together, remember? And I made you that spinach falafel after Danno burned down half of the kitchen-"</p><p>"He didn't burn down half of the kitchen Uncle Steve!"</p><p>"He tried to."</p><p>"It was an accident! And then we had Kamekona's every day for two weeks!"</p><p>"Shrimp is good for you!"</p><p>"Not deep fried and salted."</p><p>She was so matter of fact about her arguments, and was astoundingly <em>r</em><em>ight,</em> that Steve knew he had to change the subject altogether or lose the argument. </p><p>"Thank you for my coffee anyway. Why are you up so early?" </p><p>He never liked losing arguments.</p><p>"I told you, I wanted to surprise you. Danno's home tomorrow and I wanted to say thanks for having us," Grace shrugged. </p><p>"Oh babe, you don’t have to do all this," Steve chuckled, touched, "I'm always glad to have you. Always. Hell you could move in and I'd be happy!"</p><p>"You would?" She smiled, hopefully. </p><p>"Of course! I love you Gracie, you and your brother. I love having you around. You don't have to make me breakfast to thank me for anything," Steve promised, earnestly. </p><p>"I love you too uncle Steve."</p><p>She wrapped her arms around his middle so he hugged her back, and leaned down to kiss her head. She rested her chin on his stomach to look up at him.</p><p>"Why are you up early anyway?"</p><p>"I went for a swim to clear my head."</p><p>She frowned again, and stepped back so his arms slipped down to rest on her shoulders. </p><p>"Alone?"</p><p>"Uh, yeah?" Steve said, uncertainly. </p><p>She frowned harder. "You should always swim with a buddy so if anything goes wrong they can help out. And tell someone else where you're going first so if they can't help someone on land can alert the coast guard to come help instead."</p><p>Steve arched an eyebrow at her. "Danno really drilled safety first into you huh?"</p><p><em>"You</em> taught me that Uncle Steve," she corrected, "Multiple times. Usually when we're about to go surfing or when you taught me how to snorkel."</p><p>Steve blinked in alarm. He didn't really remember teaching Grace any kind of rules or safety tips, but they clearly appeared naturally from him, and she took them in. Besides, they were good rules. Much safer than the way he lived. He definitely didn’t think he would survive long if Danny found out Steve had ever suggested that rules weren't important, even if they weren't. </p><p>"Right. And that's very important. Safety first Grace, at all times!" He declared, stubbornly.</p><p>Grace gave him a baffled look before bursting into laughter. "You don't even sound like you believe that Uncle Steve!"</p><p>He wrinkled his nose. She had made him. She had made him so easily and so quickly that she was laughing at him. <em>Laughing.</em> </p><p>"Alright, alright, but tell Danno I said it anyway. I could do  with some brownie points to use when he next gets mad at me," Steve said.</p><p>"Why don’t you just stop doing things that make him mad?" Grace asked.</p><p>"Where's the fun in that?" He winked.</p><p>Grace pulled a pointed face at him, but her eyes twinkled with amusement. Steve hid his smile behind his coffee.</p><p>"It's far easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. Especially from Danno. Because he gives neither," Steve said.</p><p>Grace chuckled again. It was a brazen lie. Danny was far too forgiving for his own good sometimes and they both knew it. He forgave, but he didn’t forget.</p><p>That had gotten worse since partnering with Steve too.</p><p>Back in New Jersey Danny would listen to someone's whole schpele before telling them to shove off and shutting the door on them. Now though, he'd hang up on the president if he didn't like what he was hearing without a second thought. </p><p>She smiled to think of how Danny had changed since moving to Hawaii. He would never know how much more she knew that he thought she hadn't noticed. She did though. She could see how much happy Danny was when Steve was around. How much the two men cared about each other. Protected each other. And how much he had toned down Steve too.</p><p>The man standing in front of her, eating jam from the jar with his fingers, was a totally different person to the one her father used to complain about long before the game she met him at. </p><p>It was crazy how much time and other people could change a person. As a kid facing down the barrel of teenage-hood, that was terrifying too. </p><p>"Help me take this to the table would you?" She said.</p><p>Steve nodded and set the jam to one side. He picked up the bowl of fruit salad and carried it onto the table while Grace piled the toast onto a plate and set it beside the butter dish. Steve chuckled at it again. The perfectly square cube of butter on a dish beside the pot of jam reminded him of their high tea in Buckingham Palace. It was a shame they weren't allowed to bring Grace along. She would have loved it.</p><p>He sipped on his coffee until it was gone and when he refilled it, he hesitated at the butter. He glanced towards the table. Grace wasn't paying attention to him. She was far more interested in finishing off her fruit salad. It used up the last of the fruit he and Charlie had brought earlier in the week and they were beginning to run low on healthy foods altogether.</p><p>He didn't need to add to that struggle by adding butter to his coffee.</p><p>Grace smiled to herself as she watched her uncle's reflection in the tv screen. He put the butter away and not in his drink. He was getting healthier already.</p><p>As he reached the table again there was a loud thud from upstairs. Both of them raised their heads to look at the ceiling, as though it would give some answers.</p><p>"Charlie's up," Grace declared casually. </p><p>Seconds later tiny footsteps scurrying across the hallway and a distant sound of a toy fire engines sirens confirmed her theory. </p><p>"Charlie come eat before it's all gone!" Steve called.</p><p>The boy came dashing down the stairs holding his toy to his chest as he went. He practically threw himself against the chair to climb up onto it, and settled on his knees to reach further across the table. Instantly his sleeve was covered in jam. At least that could be Danny's problem tomorrow. </p><p>"Can we find a ghost crab today papa Steve?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"Sure you wanna go down the beach Charlie? There might be a big scary Octopus out there!" Grace teased, waggling her fingers in the air as she did.</p><p>Charlie scowled furiously at her. "<em>PAPA STEVE!</em> TELL HER TO STOP!"</p><p>"Grace be nice to your brother," Steve warned. "We can go look for one but if there's people out and about they tend to hide."</p><p>"What does that mean?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"That means if we wanna find one we should go early. As in, eat quickly and go get dressed," Steve said.</p><p>"Yay! Ghost crab!"</p><p>Charlie leapt from his chair and Steve had to remind him that he said eat first. Charlie's shoulders sagged as he heaved himself back to the table and inhaled his food as quickly as he could. Steve rolled his eyes. Charlie would give himself indigestion if he wasn’t careful. </p><p>Steve hadn't exactly planned for this week in any way, so he was more than willing to kill a couple of hours chasing crabs across the sand to keep the kids amused. Grace, however, tapped her nails across the table as Charlie ran off to dress himself.</p><p>"What?" Steve asked. </p><p>Grace glanced up at him. She said nothing. Steve reached over and gently pressed her hand into the table to stop it bouncing.</p><p>"C'mon, what's up?"</p><p>Grace sunk in her chair slightly. "I was hoping we could do some more knife throwing before Danno came home."</p><p>"I don't wanna encourage Charlie," Steve explained. </p><p>"I know. Neither do I. I just thought..."</p><p>"Thought what?"</p><p>"I dunno, maybe it could be our thing? I mean, diving was our thing until Danno got worried about fishing nets-"</p><p>Steve and Danny had worked a case where the victim was drowned. It turned out to be a tragic accident where he had gotten tangled in a fishing net, panicked, and it weighed him down. Since then, Danny was no so keen on Grace and Steve diving fully under the waves just in case. Of course Steve still did because Danny had no legitimate reason to complain and stop him - it wasn't like they were dating - but Danny still worried and asked Grace to avoid it.</p><p>"And we had surfing with Auntie Kono until she left, and now Charlie's learning to swim so he'll come snorkelling with us, and my training is over because I won the presidential exercise thingy, so we don’t have anything that’s just for you and me anymore."</p><p>"Just for you and me?" Steve repeated in surprise. </p><p>She nodded. "I thought we could do knife throwing, just you and me."</p><p>Now, Danny would never in a million years admit that he wanted to spend some time with Charlie alone outside the hospital so the two of them could bond and make up for lost time, but Steve knew he did. He would never even suggest asking for time with Charlie without taking Grace too, he wouldn't even think about it. But if Grace and Steve were messing around in the garden, Danny could focus on Charlie and bond. It was a feasible way of selling the idea to Danny, but Steve wasn't convinced he'd buy it.</p><p>Especially if it meant leaving Steve and Grace in a potentially risky situation unsupervised. </p><p>Then again, Steve did like one on one time with the kids...</p><p>"I'll see what I can do," he promised. </p><p>The trouble with toddlers is that they don't care about silly things like trousers being on the right way round, or shirts not being inside out, or wearing shoes. And they're fast. Steve couldn't catch up with Charlie to fix his clothes before he was already halfway to the shoreline and not about to be stopped.</p><p>"GRACE CAN YOU LOCK THE DOOR?!" Steve called over his shoulder as he darted after Charlie.</p><p>Whether or not she heard him he had no idea, because Charlie had tripped over himself and tumbled face first into the sand. Steve hoisted him up by his middle, and sat him on his bent knee.</p><p>"Look at you, you look like me in basic training!" Steve chuckled. </p><p>Charlie wrinkled his nose repeatedly as he tried to rub the sand off of his face. He whined as the roughness hurt his skin. He kept his mouth shut so he wouldn’t swallow any, but his eyes were wide with alarm and Steve was concerned about them.</p><p>"close your eyes for me, nice and tight."</p><p>Charlie whimpered again, but he trusted his uncle. He screwed his eyes shut. Steve balanced him with one hand as he pulled off his own shirt  and used it to clear the sand away from the boys face. He was about to reach his nose when Charlie let out a large sneeze. Steve jolted in surprise, which knocked off Charlie's balance and sent him toppling backwards. </p><p>Back into the sand. </p><p>His eyes flew open in alarm as he hit the ground. Steve set his hands on his hips as he bit back a laugh. </p><p>"Sorry kiddo."</p><p>Charlie pouted at him as he recalibrated. Steve's smile crept out despite trying to bite hit lip and stop it. Seeing him smile, Charlie realised that he wasn't hurt. Not just that, this was funny too. He giggled as he laid on his back looking up at his uncle.</p><p>"Silly Uncle Steve! You dropped me!" He giggled. </p><p>Steve waggled his fingers, grinning, "butterfingers!"</p><p>Steve reached a hand down to held Charlie back up to his feet. Charlie squeezed it with all his might to enact his revenge. Being three, he didn’t have much might. Being a SEAL, Steve barely felt him trying. Even so, he hissed sharply like he had been hurt, and Charlie utterly lit up to see how strong he was.</p><p>Steve was dusting Charlie off again when a shrill screech made him jump and stumble, which made slip on the sand and fall down into it. Charlie giggled madly when Steve hit the ground. He didn’t notice though because Grace was flying straight towards them screaming like a banshee. </p><p>"I WON!"</p><p>"You what?!"</p><p>"<em>I WON</em>!"</p><p>Steve gasped in delight as he scrambled to his feet. "You did?!"</p><p>"I did! I won, I <em>won</em> isn't that awesome?! I won!" Grace cried.</p><p>"Amazing Gracie! I told you you were a brilliant artist!" He beamed.</p><p>She was beaming proudly as Steve beamed back. He wrapped his arms around her middle and swept her off of her feet to swing her round proudly, while she giggled. He threw her over one shoulder, and swing back the other way to stop her getting dizzy.  She laughed louder. Still in the sand but swept up in the delighted tornado, Charlie was bouncing and throwing his hands in the air.</p><p>"Yay for Gracie!" He cheered. </p><p>"Yay for me!" She giggled.</p><p>"I feel like we should build you a sandcastle throne to sit on now so all of the beach knows who designed the logo of the team that’s going to clean it all up!" Steve laughed.</p><p>Grace gasped eagerly, "can we?! Oh please Papa Steve can we?!"</p><p>"But the ghost crabs! You promised! And we never break a promise!" Charlie whined. </p><p>"Calm down bud, we can do both. In fact, it'll great because ghost crabs live in the sand so if we start digging to make a sand castle we might just spook one into running for cover somewhere else!" Steve grinned.</p><p>Charlie thumped the air again, "Yeah!"</p><p>"Uncle Steve?" Grace grunted quietly.</p><p>"Yeah monkey?" Steve asked.</p><p>"Can you put me down? I’m starting to feel sick," Grace said.</p><p>"Sure, of course."</p><p>Steve lifted Grace off of her shoulder, swept her down back to the sand beside Charlie. She staggered as she tried to find her balance. </p><p>"How'd you find out?" Steve asked.</p><p>"I texted Cooper and he told me," Grace said.</p><p>Steve arched an eyebrow at her. "You texted Cooper?"</p><p>"Sure. We are friends Papa, he just needs to learn when to shut up," she snorted.</p><p>Steve chuckled. "You really remind me of your father sometimes."</p><p>Grace grinned back. "Show me how to build a sand throne!"</p><p>Steve had to go back to find a spade for them to dig with. He handed Charlie a bucket and a stop watch. The stop watch was set to five minutes. Charlie was free to run around and hunt down crabs or seashells to help decorate their throne as long as he came back to Steve's side when the stopwatch went off. Then Steve reset it and sent him off again.</p><p><em>Grace's</em> bucket was filled with seawater so they could keep mixing sand and water to pack the sand together tighter while sculpting. Obviously it didn’t stay in the bucket. Grace carried a full bucket back from the incoming tide twice to soak the sand before she decided that it was more fun to do something else with the water.</p><p>Like pour it over Steve's head.</p><p>Steve howled as the water rolled down his back and scrambled to his feet as though he could out run it. Grace dropped the bucket by her toes, laughing brightly. Steve scowled as he pulled his shirt away from his stomach to ring out the water.</p><p>"Oh you think that's funny do you?! I'll show you!"</p><p>His eyes shone with vengeance as Grace took off across the sand. she squealed with frantic laughter as she raced away. Steve took off after her. He had taught her how to conserve her energy to get a boost when she needed it, and she had won a contest to prove he had taught her well. But his legs were longer than hers. And he had years more training than she did. Even being slowed by sand clinging to his now soaked feet, he chased her across the sand and caught her with ease.</p><p>Grace squealed again as he tossed her over his shoulders into a fireman’s lift and strolled out, directly into the sea. She writhed to try and get away but he had a tight hold and she couldn’t. Instead she drummed her fists against his back, screeching between giggles as they went. </p><p>Both of them were keenly aware that Grace had been taught by Kono how to defend herself, and Steve wasn’t convinced he could beat Kono in a fight. He was confident that if Grace really tried to, she could fight her way away from him. If she wanted to that is.</p><p>Steve stopped walking when the water hit his waste. He wasn’t sure how much further it would be before it was level with Grace's head and he didn't actually want her to be face down in the water. He grinned though, because he could feel her nails clawing into his skin like a cat trying to stay safe.</p><p>"It's not so funny now huh?" He teased. </p><p>"I'll save yo-o-o-ou Gra-a-a-c-ie!" Charlie yelled as he ran confidently towards the water.</p><p>Steve turned back to watch him, and Grace had to flip her hair out of her face to be able to see. That was how she found out her hair was already soaking. They watched as Charlie puffed out his little chest and ran straight into the water. </p><p>And then yelped and ran straight back out, screaming, "IT'S COLD! IT'S COLD! IT'S SO COLD!" </p><p>Steve laughed warmly which bounced Grace and she scrambled to get a tighter grip. He turned back towards the shore and waited until he was only shin high in the water to drop her down beside him. She screamed. </p><p>"I'M SOAKING! I'M SOAKING! LOOK AT MY HAIR! MY PANTS! <em>UNCLE STEVE!"</em></p><p>"Hey how'd you think I feel?!" He grinned as he teased her, "I'm soaking wet from the head down because of you!"</p><p>Grace scowled. She lifted her damp hair with one hand and shook it at Steve. "Is this not the head down to you?!"</p><p>Steve just smiled. She tried so hard not to smile back but she couldn't fight it. Steve laid a hand on her  back and walked them both back towards their half built throne. Charlie was covering it with twigs he had found in the sand. </p><p>"I haven't seen a crab yet uncle Steve," he said.</p><p>"Just keep digging, one might turn up. But they are wild. No one knows if and when-" Steve began. </p><p>"Is that one?" Grace interrupted. </p><p>Charlie gasped as he followed her point just in time to see a crab creeping towards the edge of an almost invisible hole in the sand.</p><p>"CATCH IT! CATCH IT QUICK- CATCH IT!"</p><p>Who he was shouting at no one was quite sure because Charlie himself was the one to take off straight for the poor crab, and the crab, feeling his vibrations coming, took off away from him. Charlie dashed across the sand like his life depended on it. He threw himself across the beach, straight for the crab. It was a final desperate shot. As his stomach hit the ground he knew that he wouldn’t have time to get back to his feet before the crab got away. His fingers brushed against the edge of its legs, but fell tantalisingly short. </p><p>And the crab was gone.</p><p>Charlie sat up and whined in the sand. Steve scooped him up effortlessly with one arm and sat him on his hip. </p><p>"Don't beat yourself up kiddo, you were amazing. You were so close, and so fast! Come on, we'll let you sit on our sand throne right after Grace's turn," he promised. </p><p>Throne was a rather kind way of putting it. Mound of sand and twigs might have been more accurate. But the three of them crowded around it to take a selfie on Grace's phone anyway. She grumbled about the fact there was now sand in her headphone jack, but not enough to let it spoil her day. </p><p>Steve showed Charlie how to stand at attention like a real solider, and what to do when he yelled out orders. Charlie giggled, but he tried hard to keep a straight face when Steve ordered him to attention. <br/>
They both stood straight with their arms tight at their sides and their shoulders back. Steve, unsurprising, was an expert at this and looked professional in his attempt. Charlie was three, and looked like an excited toddler playing a game with his chest puffed out a little too proudly.</p><p>But they both pretended that Grace was the most important person in America as she strode forward to take her seat. </p><p>She stood with her back to it, looking out over the ocean for a moment. It was far closer now than it had been before, and the sun was scattering across it to sparkle like diamonds. The crash of the waves was loud. Louder than anywhere else on the island sometimes. There weren't as many people around to drown it out. She could see them in the distance though. People paddle boarding up to some other people in a canoe. They were laughing. It was hard to pick out the sound over the waves and the breeze but she was sure she could hear them laughing. And that breeze smelt of far away barbecues that tasted nothing like the salt in her hair. </p><p>With her soldiers waiting for her to take her throne, Grace felt like a princess. But if it came to a choice between the cold white marble of Buckingham Palace, or a sand throne on the edge of her uncle's private beach, it was an easy choice to make.</p><p>Grace took a deep breath of salty sea air, and closed her eyes to feel the warm sun finally taking the chill out of the powdery sand beneath her bare toes. With all the dignity she could muster, Grace sat down.</p><p>And instantly tumbled into a pile of cold, damp sand as it crumbled apart beneath her. She yelped in surprise as she went. Charlie burst into laughter as Steve set his hands on his hips.</p><p>"How'd that happen? I’m usually so great at making sand sculptures!" He frowned, confused.</p><p>Grace flipped her hair out of her face again to scowl at her little brother as he laughed at her. She threw a fistful of damp sand at him, hitting him square in the chest. Charlie yelped in alarm. He looked down like he'd been shot, and then scowled at Grace. </p><p>Steve was helpless to either protect or defend anyone as the children hurled sand at one another like really shoddy snowballs. They half blew away before reaching either of them, and the ones that did were risky. Steve didn’t want either of them to end up with sand in their eyes. But when he stepped in the middle to stop them, he found himself pinned down by both of them sitting on his torso as Charlie buried his arms, and Grace his legs.</p><p>Had the tide not started lapping at his toes, he may have let them leave him there.</p><p>Once again Steve found himself tracking sandy footprints across his house as he ushered the kids up towards the shower. They had an outdoor one too, but after the sand fight on the beach he wasn't risking a water fight to make it harder to shift the sand. It was already in deeply uncomfortable places.</p><p>Grace sat on the lid of the toilet, swinging her legs as she watched Steve scrub Charlie clean. Again. </p><p>"I felt like a princess out there," she declared.</p><p>Steve grinned at her, warmly, "you did? You liked the throne huh?"</p><p>"Uhuh. Until it broke anyway," she nodded.</p><p>"I liked it when it broke and Grace fell in the sand!" Charlie beamed.</p><p>Grace blew a raspberry at him so Charlie blew one back and Steve waved an arm between the two of them to end the argument there.</p><p>"I don't think I'd like to be a princess though. Not if it means having to move to England," She said, thoughtfully.</p><p>"Mommy's from England," Charlie said.</p><p>"I know. And it's cold and grey and it rains a lot there!" Grace complained. </p><p>"That’s why mommy came to Hawaii," Steve winked.<br/>
Charlie giggled.</p><p>"I saw Buckingham Palace on TV, it's really big, what would I even put in all the rooms?!" Grace asked.</p><p>Steve chuckled. Typical teenager, always thinking about the material gains.</p><p>"Well I've been to Buckingham Palace for dinner once-" Steve began.</p><p>"You did?!" Charlie gasped.</p><p>"I did. Me and Danno did," Steve smiled proudly.</p><p><em>"Danno</em> did?!" Charlie gasped wide eyed with awe.</p><p>Steve smiled to himself. It was always adorable to see how Charlie idolised his dad. Even if it was followed by a barrage of additional questions.</p><p>"Did you meet the queen?! Was she nice?! Did she give you diamonds?! Can I have them?!"</p><p>"The queen doesn’t just give away diamonds bud. I wish she did, but she didn't," Steve chuckled, "but Grace's right. London is cold. It's not grey thought. There's plenty of big green spaces and pretty green birds there too."</p><p>"I wouldn’t want to move there just to be a queen though. I like Hawaii too much," Grace said firmly. </p><p>"Well y’know, Hawaii used to have a queen too," Steve said.</p><p>Grace sat up in surprise. "It did?!"</p><p>"Uhuh. Who did you think King David Kalakaua was?" Steve smirked.</p><p>"Who?" Charlie asked innocently.</p><p>Steve frowned to himself. He had assumed that Hawaiian history was taught in school now days, even if it hadn't really been on the curriculum when he was a kid. If not, Danny worked for the island. He should indulge the kids in the culture. Kamekona did. Steve knew that because Charlie spoke more pidgin than Danny and Danny complained about it when he was feeling insecure about things.</p><p>Then again Danny was from New Jersey. Most of the Hawaiian culture he knew he learned from a case. Usually he dismissed it too. Maybe Steve should have been making more of an effort to teach all three of them more about his island.</p><p>"Next time you guys come visit me and Danno at the Iolani Palace I'm taking you to the cultural centre. I probably should have taken Danno there a long time ago, but it's okay, you two can teach him everything he doesn't know, right?" He winked.</p><p>"Yeah!" The kids cheered.</p><p>Steve smiled. He would never pretend he wasn't delighted at the chance to spend more time with them. Even if it meant putting up with cheap shots from Danny all day.</p><p>He left Grace to shower alone because she was big enough to do so safely, and ushered Charlie into Junior's room to dress him. He glanced between the half empty weekend bag and the pyjamas tossed on the floor. The pyjamas were clean, mostly. It didn't make sense to make more laundry than necessary before they went home tomorrow. Which is why when Charlie went rushing across the living room and spilt his drink as he went, Steve used his sandy and damp shirt to clean up the spill. It needed washing anyway!</p><p>"What shall we do now huh? We've got the rest of the day ahead of us, how should we use it?" Steve declared.</p><p>"Ice cream party!" Charlie cheered.</p><p>Steve paused to stop his initial reaction. Instinct told him to say yes. To have a huge bowl of ice cream with him. Last week he wouldn't have thought twice about it if it made Charlie smile. But he'd learned a lot about these kids in the last week, and he had realised how quickly that sugar would go to Charlie's head. It would make him hyperactive, and then it would make him feel sick, and then maybe he'd be sick, and Steve would have to deal with it. He wrinkled his nose.</p><p>"Uh, I dunno, I think we should let breakfast settle first. Did you finish all your fruit salad?" Steve asked. </p><p>"I don’t want fruit salad, I want ice cream!" Charlie whined.</p><p>"You can have fruit salad with normal cream or you can have fruit salad with nothing, but not ice cream," Steve said.</p><p>"Why?!" Charlie cried desperately,  "I want ice cream!"</p><p>Steve hated to disappoint the boy, but sometimes you had to be cruel to be kind.</p><p>"Because we ate all the ice cream the other night when you had a nightmare. It's all gone!" He lied.</p><p>Charlie pouted, frowning hard. "Honest?"</p><p>"Do you think I'd lie to you?" Steve asked calmly.</p><p>Charlie frowned again, looking confused. Steve tried to look calm as his heart thumped nervously. </p><p>"I don’t know. Maybe?" Charlie said, quietly.</p><p>"Charlie," Steve said, as if he was surprised and a little hurt, even though he was terrified Charlie was onto him. "I'm papa Steve! What would I lie for?"</p><p>Charlie pouted and sulked, but he knew he wouldn't win. "Can I have with cream please."</p><p>"Sure thing, coming right up!" </p><p>By the time Grace came back downstairs the fruit salad was almost gone. She too had changed back into her pyjamas. It was not a moment too soon either because the sand coating Steve was beginning to dry off and feel scratchy again. It was bringing back a lot of buried memories of discomfort. With her in charge Steve could go back upstairs and wash it all off. Having the ability to clean away his discomfort was something he had grown to appreciate since leaving the Navy. </p><p>It was little things, y’know. </p><p>Steve shrugged and dug out some pyjamas that Mary had brought him for Christmas that he had buried in the back of a cupboard. Usually he slept in nothing but his underwear, unless he had burnt himself out at work and collapsed fully dressed, but he liked the idea of a pyjama day. It had been decades since his last one.</p><p>A loud battering noise cut through his thoughts. When he opened his bedroom door in his bright red and green candy cane colour pyjamas, he found Charlie on the landing. </p><p>Charlie had hauled the bed covers from Junior's room up over his shoulder and was stubbornly marching them down towards the stairs. Clearly the covers were heavier than he expected and he was struggling but he wouldn’t let that stop him. Steve leaned against the doorframe.</p><p>"Uh, whatcha doing kiddo?"</p><p>"We're making a slide!" Charlie grunted.</p><p>"A... slide? Where?" Steve frowned.</p><p>"Charlie! I said pillows!" Grace shouted from downstairs. </p><p>There was a sound almost like a thwack as she threw something back up the stairs, or at least attempted to. </p><p>"I already gave you the pillows!" Charlie shouted back.</p><p>"What about Uncle Steve's pillows?!" She demanded.</p><p>"What do you need Uncle Steve's pillows for?" Steve asked.</p><p>Grace fell quiet. She scurried up the stairs on all fours, dodging the swathes of fabric she had just thrown up across them as she went. Her head bobbed up from halfway down to see Steve in his pyjamas. Any other time she would have burst into laughter. Now though, her shoulders sagged, disappointed. </p><p>"I thought you were in the shower," she said.</p><p>"I was. Now I'm not. What are you two doing?" Steve challenged.</p><p>"It's safe! I've done this before!" She insisted. </p><p>Dodging questions and answering her own gave Steve the distinct impression that this was not safe and she was probably lying.</p><p>"That's not what I asked," he said, calmly.</p><p>He looked down at Charlie, who repeated, "We're building a slide."</p><p>Grace hissed at him in annoyance and threw one of the lalani chair cushions at him. Charlie yelled back in complaint. Grace folded her arms across the stairs and put her chin on her arms to pout sulkily. Steve was unphased.</p><p>"Uhuh. How?" He asked. </p><p>"Um... well..." Grace tried to think of a lie, but Charlie was holding the evidence above his head for all the world to see. "Well we're getting all the pillows from the couch and from the bedrooms and building a big crash mat at the bottom of the stairs-"</p><p>"You’re turning the stairs into a slide?" Steve's eyebrows rose.</p><p>"It's safe!" She whined insistently.</p><p>"It is not! If you get covered in bruises while in my care Danny will kill me. Probably not with a gun either, with his bare hands!" Steve complained back.</p><p>"But-"</p><p>"No buts! I'm not going to let you two hurt yourselves for fun!"</p><p>"I've done it before!"</p><p>"When?"</p><p>"At Kiki's Princess Diaries birthday party. They went down on mattresses so we went on blankets!"</p><p>"On blankets?"</p><p>"Yeah, like this!" </p><p>Before Steve could stop her, Grace tugged the blanket that she had thrown up the stairs around her and slid back down them. Steve flew to the top of the stairs to watch her go. Each clatter of the floorboards as she passed them made his heart thump erratically. </p><p>Grace hit the pillows within the blink of an eye and sprawled out across them, laughing brightly. Charlie ducked under Steve's arms to see her waving her arms and legs like she was making a snow angel.</p><p>"MY TURN!" He yelled.</p><p>Steve attempted to stop him but Charlie was too quick. He ducked back to grab the covers he had been dragging out of his room and threw himself down the stairs, giggling all the way. Steve dropped his head in his hands on the banister. Charlie dropped into the pile of pillows, and burst into laughter. </p><p>"Your turn uncle Steve!" He cried.</p><p>"No way, I'm not encouraging this!" Steve argued.</p><p>Grace set her hands on her hips and looked up at him, seriously. It was the exact pose he had both given and received from Danny when one of them was being ridiculous. </p><p>"How comes throwing knives into too dangerous but this is?" She demanded.</p><p>Ah. She had gotten him. But he couldn't let her know that. "Knife throwing is a survival skill, this is not!"</p><p>"What is we had to escape down a mountain?" Grace challenged. </p><p>"Yeah! Or down the side of a cliff!" Charlie cried, grinning eagerly. </p><p>"We live on a volcano uncle Steve, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that we might have to ride out a land slide like this," Grace grinned.</p><p>"Or lava!" Charlie beamed.</p><p>"I'm not sure what help a blanket would be against lava," Steve grumbled.</p><p>"A fire blanket!" Charlie beamed.</p><p>Grace raised a hand and gestured to Charlie, grinning in agreement. Steve rolled his eyes. He was fairly certian Charlie didn't understand what fire blankets were for.</p><p>"Come on uncles Steve! This is the closest Charlie will ever get to sledding down the hill back in New Jersey. Don't ruin it for him," Grace urged.</p><p>"Yeah Uncle Steve, don't ruin it!" Charlie agreed.</p><p>"Fine, fine, I'll do it, but on one condition!" Steve warned.</p><p>"We won't tell Danno," Grace promised.</p><p>"Promise," Charlie agreed.</p><p>Steve sighed. Once upon a time he had lead a team of men heavily trained and fully armed into battle. He had chopper pilots with machine guns wedged in the doorway, and full convoys ready for battle, all waiting for <em>his</em> command before they took a single step out of position. He had held the power over life and death decisions. He had done things that still haunted his dreams so that no one else in his team would have to shoulder that burden. No one would argue with him over it either. Because they all knew his word was law.</p><p>Now he was peer pressured - no, it wasn't even peer pressure. He was <em>bullied</em> into things by literal children! </p><p>He sighed again as he sat, wrapped up in his own blanket from his bed, in red and green candy cane pyjamas, ready to slide down his staircase, and wondered what Mary would say if she could see him now. It would be her Christmas card for the rest of her life.</p><p>However, as he rattled his old bones down the staircase at lightening speed and landed in a safety net of cushions, he had to admit there was a certain thrill to it. Maybe not adrenaline - Lord knew Steve could recognise adrenaline instantly by now and this wasn't quite that - but it was a thrill. One only improved by Charlie bundling on top of him in the cushions. </p><p>"Okay, that was kind of fun," he admitted.</p><p>"Again, again!" Charlie cried, beaming.</p><p>"I think it's Grace's turn this time bud," Steve corrected.</p><p>"Lets go together!" Grace declared. </p><p>"Yeah!" Charlie cried.</p><p>"Come on uncle Steve!" Grace beamed.</p><p>"I'm not sure-" Steve began.</p><p>"Come on!" Charlie latched onto his hand and dragged him up the stairs.</p><p>Grace hauled one of the covers up with her as they went. The three of them sat in age order wrapped up tight and looking like they were about to take on splash mountain. Steve looked queasy. His legs were laying across the blanket, but they were so long that they reached Charlie at the front with ease. Grace's legs also wrapped around her little brother. He had folded his into his lap though. Grace's arms wrapped around his stomach to hold him up, and Steve tried to hold both of them at the same time but he couldn’t.</p><p>"You gotta push off Papa!" Grace beamed.</p><p>Steve was reluctant to risk it, but he reached up for the banister and edged them forward. Charlie lunged from his waist to try and help. His arms were wrapped in the blanket so he couldn’t push with them. Steve let go when gravity took over, and both kids screamed as they plummeted down to the cushions.</p><p>All three of them were tangled together in the cushions. Steve ached from each bump, but neither kid seemed affected. In fact, they were ready to go again.</p><p>"Okay, I'm too old for this. You two carry on, I'm gonna go... not do this," he said.</p><p>The kids didn’t need telling twice. They were already halfway up the stairs again. Steve rested a hand on his aching back as he headed to the living room. He frowned. If he had wanted to watch TV he was going to have to do so standing up, because his couch cushions were missing. </p><p>Steve turned to complain as the kids hit the ground, but stopped himself. Grace was beaming. It was a huge, dopey, <em>joyous</em> beam that made the sunshine look dim. A carefree one. A childish one. His chest ached to think of how quickly she had grown up to be mature and responsible at such a young age. He had wanted her to be a child.</p><p>He got his wish. He couldn't stop her now.</p><p>In fact Steve didn't stop either of them at all. In the end they decided that what was more fun than sliding down the stairs was building a pillow fort. That was where Steve's expertise came in again.</p><p>They knocked the couch down onto it's back to use the seat as a wall and the back as a lounge area and built out from there. Dining and lalani chairs became support beams. The coffee table got moved aside and turned on its side to give some height to their blankets too. By the time they had it all set up the fort took up most of the room, and was open to see the TV through. It felt cosy though. Even cosier when Steve snuggled in with a bowl of warm popcorn to snack on.</p><p>"Is this dinner?" Grace asked. </p><p>"Do you want more?" Steve asked, genuinely. </p><p>"No. Not right now. But we're running out of food," she said.</p><p>Steve shrugged, "It's okay, tomorrow Danno's home. He'll bring food."</p><p>"It's our last day. I forgot," she muttered.</p><p>He tilted her head. "You sound disappointed."</p><p>"I've had fun," she nodded.</p><p>Charlie shushed them so he could start a film and actually hear it. Steve smirked. He linked an arm around Grace to silently agree with her. She understood. Grace chuckled and reached over to steal some popcorn. She snuggled closer to Steve as they settled in together. Charlie laid across his belly and tried to eat popcorn directly out of the bowl.</p><p>"Hey! What are you, an animal?! Use your hand you maniac!" Steve teased.</p><p>"Okay papa!" Charlie grinned.</p><p>He took as big a handful as he could, which wasn’t huge because his hands were tiny, and dropped them on the floor in front of him. His hands were balled against his cheeks to support his head but he kept ducking down to peck popcorn off of the floor. Much to Steve's looked like one of those thirsty bird desk toys.</p><p>As the movie went on, Steve found himself yawning more and more. He hadn't slept and he was utterly exhausted now. It was a struggle to keep his eyes open.</p><p>It was cosy here. The blankets draped across them kept in the warmth, and the only light was from the TV. The cushions around them were soft enough to sink into too. Soft and comforting. Just like their pyjamas. Beyond the smell of popcorn and body wash they were all dosed in, he could still faintly catch the sea between them. The salty water was caught in their hair. </p><p>It smelt familiar. Welcoming. It felt like home. Surf was never far away here.</p><p>The warmth of the bowl in his lap was nothing compared to Charlie against his leg and Grace against his arm. She was beginning to feel heavier too. Like she was resting more and more of her weight against him. She had gotten up early to surprise him and hadn't stopped since. Charlie wriggled onto his side and rested his head on Steve’s knee to watch the movie still but rest his head too. He hadn't had his nap yet today. </p><p>Steve yawned again as his eyes started to sting with each blink. He had never been able to sleep with the TV on, but after a week of being a parent, he was wiped out. Beyond exhausted. He was seconds away from being comatose with each blink. </p><p>Until eventually he just slipped into it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Updates ASAP</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Day 7 - Danno Returns</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Danny would be lying if he said part of him hadn’t expected Steve to phone up, slightly deranged, and demand to know when he was coming home because he was being run ragged. Not that Steve would say that in so many words. He'd try and sound casual about it. Like he wasn't desperate to be free of the responsibility of babysitting now. It would probably <em>sound</em> like an offer to pick him up from the airport. </p><p>But he didn’t.</p><p>Danny had to get a cab from the airport to Steve's place because that's where his car had been safely parked for the last week. It had definitely been safely parked there because the keys were in Danny's pocket. Unless Steve had broken in and hotwired it. Or, worse, broken into Danny's house and taken the spare set from the safe. Neither of which he would put past Steve. </p><p>But when the cab pulled up outside Steve's place the car looked unmoved. Untouched. On closer inspection, he concluded that it had remained untouched the entire time he'd been away. </p><p>That alone was satisfying. </p><p>Part of Danny had expected both kids to come flying out of the door when he pulled up. They did not though. In fact from what Danny could see from the outside, he wasn't even certain that they were awake. It was quiet. The house seemed empty. The truck was parked in the drive so wherever they had gone, if anywhere, it couldn't be far. </p><p>Danny paused at the front door. Not once had he ever knocked on Steve's door before walking in, but he hoped the door would be locked today at least. Charlie had a habit of running off and if the door was unlocked he couldn't be contained. For the kids safety it should be locked. Danny huffed as he opened the door.</p><p>"Will you ever learn to lock your doors?"</p><p>Danny's eyes widened as he stepped into the room. It was like a tent town. Swathes of fabric as far as the eye could see. The TV was still crackling. It had fallen onto standby, but it was still on. </p><p>"Steve?" He called, instinctively. </p><p>There was no response from anywhere. Danny stepped closer to turn off the TV. The remote wasn’t anywhere to be found. Neither was the coffee table. There was a large empty gap where it had once been.</p><p>That was when he found his kids and Steve snuggled down together against the couch and cushions, sound asleep with a half eaten bowl of popcorn between them. </p><p>Steve was slumped back like he had just given up a fight. It wasn't as much relaxed as much as necessary. Like he had struggled against sleep. Knowing him, he probably had. Charlie, however, was laying with his head on Steve's leg like a switch had been flicked off inside him. He was relaxed. Calm. Like had always was when he slept. Steve's arm was still wrapped around Grace. She bundled up beside him, resting her head against his ribcage. Her face was hidden by the angle, but Danny had let Grace sleep on his chest since the day she was born. He knew how angelic she looked when she was sleeping. How at peace she looked. </p><p>Still, to see the three of them crowded together, nestled down, peaceful and comforted, it was adorable. Steve had stepped into parenthood full force and the kids had clearly run rings around him until they settled in here. But he tried. And it was sweet to see.</p><p>But he couldn’t ignore the fact all three were in pyjamas. Even Steve. Danny couldn't resist snapping a photo on his phone. He chuckled as he admired the photo and tucked his phone back into his pocket. He would definitely annoy Steve with this later, but right now, he needed to wake him up.</p><p>"Steve?"</p><p>Danny considered kicking him gently to wake him up, but he thought better of it. If the kids woke up and saw him they'd learn bad habits. Given how easily they learned them by accident it was best to avoid them where possible. Danny knelt down to nudge them gently instead. </p><p>"Hey kids... wake up you two, it's morning," he whispered gently.</p><p>Steve was the only one who stirred. Danny sat back on his haunches to let him wake properly. Steve groaned as a shooting pain rang through his back now he was awake. He blinked slowly as he adjusted to figure out where the hell this was. As he blinked, Danny came into focus. Steve blinked again in surprise as Danny gave him an affectionate smile. </p><p>Steve gave him a sleepy smile back. His voice croaked as he said, "Hey!" </p><p>"Well aloha," Danny smiled. </p><p>"What are you doing here?"</p><p>"I'll give you three guesses you idiot."</p><p>The movement of Steve woke up Charlie. Steve hissed as Charlie shifted. Between the couch behind him and the weight of both kids across him, Steve was aching all over now. Pins and needles fizzed in the spot Charlie had just moved from. Charlie rubbed his eyes and yawned, wrinkling his nose with a look of grumpy confusion as he woke up for the day. Danny waved at him. Charlie frowned, tilting his head.</p><p>"Danno?"</p><p>"Hey buddy! I’ve missed you!"</p><p>"Danno?!"</p><p>"Hi!"</p><p>"DANNO!"</p><p>Charlie shot up from the ground to throw his arms around Danny's neck. Danny laughed as his balance was knocked back. He quickly moved to drop his other knee so both were on the ground and hugged him back. </p><p>Charlie pushed back, his hands on Danny's shoulders to ask, "Did you bring me a present?"</p><p>Danny snorted. "Hello to you too."</p><p>Grace pulled herself up as she took in the new morning and the fact her father was home again. She could feel the crick in her neck but it was nowhere near as bad as Steve's.</p><p>"Aloha Danno, welcome home!" She smiled.</p><p>Danny looked up at her, his smile odd. "Home huh?"</p><p>Home was what he'd just left. It had taken two days of feeling like he was a ghost in his own city to adjust to the changes. Then it had taken another four days to remember what he hated about the place. But that last day he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to leave. Now he was back on O'ahu he wasn’t sure this felt like home anymore. Not until he came down the driveway to Steve's place and hugged his daughter tight that is.</p><p>"I missed you monkey. Did you miss me?"</p><p>It was then that it dawned on Grace that she hadn't actually missed her father. No more than she missed him when she was staying with her mother and she hadn’t missed her mother many more than she did when she was staying with him anyway. Part of her was used to being away from them. And Steve was as much a parent to her as either of them these days anyway so it was like they were still there. The realisation took her by surprise. But she wasn't ready to fully face the implications of that yet, so she smiled through it and nodded.</p><p>"Always!"</p><p>Steve chuckled softly as he watched Danny pull his kids close and hug them tight and affectionately. It was a bitter sweet scene. Danny always lit up when he was around his kids. As tired and dishevelled as he looked after travelling all this way, Danny looked happy to be home. That was reassuring. Maybe he wouldn't run back to New Jersey any time soon if these two were here.</p><p>But he was taking them home now. To his home. And the house was going to feel so much quieter and so much more empty than ever before without them.</p><p>"You uh... you planning on staying in there all day?" Danny teased.</p><p>Steve held a hand out to him. "Help me up."</p><p>All three of them latched onto Steve's arm to haul him up to his feet. He groaned as his muscles yelled at him. All the numbness in him were fizzing with pins and needles and it was hard to prevent stumbling. Steve latched onto Danny to hold himself up and Danny instantly grabbed him back to help. <br/>Grace smiled to herself to see the way the two men literally clung to one another for support. She had seen more than enough Hallmark movies to recognise that kind of touch. </p><p>As Steve found his feet again, Danny's jaw was slack as he stared, wide eyed around the room. Even when he was living here it hadn't looked this untidy. Well, there was that valentine's weekend when Steve went off with Catherine and Danny had to look after Grace's dog, things got a little out of hand then, but even that hadn't lead to this!</p><p>The pillow fort was one thing, but the table was cluttered with washing up, laundry tailed down the stairs, a deck of cards was scattered across the floor, there was popcorn crunched into the ground between juice stains and sandy footprints. Rings of sea salt were left scattered on the floorboards from the doorway like drops had evaporated instead of being cleaned. They had even managed to leave jam stains across the walls at around Charlie's height. </p><p>Steve scratched the back of his neck and pursed his lips as he looked around. Now he was seeing it through Danny's eyes he could see the damage for what it was. It was hard to imagine that three people could cause such a mess in a week, let alone one night. Steve hadn’t noticed how much had been tossed aside or knocked down while they were hauling heavy blankets around the place. Now that the cushion pile had been repurposed there was no proof that they had turned the stairs into a slide though. Well, nothing but a small dent in one of the banister spindles anyway. At least they couldn’t see the home made target board outside from here though. </p><p>Danny blinked at him, half in awe, and half shocked. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"</p><p>Steve let out a long, tired exhale and shook his head as he searched for an explanation. There were plenty that he could offer. Right off the cuff he had formed three or four half baked excuses. Not that he thought Danny would believe a single one. Honestly there wasn't any one explanation to offer. Kids were messy, he was chaotic. Danny already knew both of those things. It was to be expected. All he could offer in the end was honesty. Honesty came with a defeated shrug.</p><p>"To be honest with you Danno... I think I did okay."</p><p>Danny blinked at him. He had this look that Steve saw a lot from him. He had never been able to put his finger on what was being expressed, because he wasn't sure anything actually was. Danny had perfected the art of hiding his true emotions behind a mask for interrogations and Steve sometimes wondered if he knew how to take it off. His arms did the expressing for him. His facial changes were usually too subdued to be readable unless you knew him like Steve knew him. </p><p>But this look? The mildly tilted up chin, the perked eyebrows, the slightly ajar mouth, the way he pulled his shoulders back and paused to stare at Steve for a moment, Steve knew this look. At least, he knew what it was about to lead to. </p><p>Steve cleared his throat and adjusted himself to stand on his own, in his usual battle position. He was barely awake and he was hungry and aching, but if Danny wanted an argument Steve wasn’t going to back down so easily. </p><p>Grace and Charlie went for cover in the kitchen, taking the popcorn with them.</p><p>"You think this is okay? This place is a mess! What did you even do to make this fort, build a new living room?!" Danny demanded sarcastically. </p><p>"No I didn’t make a new living room Danny, it's just..." Steve trailed off.</p><p>"Just what? You missed living in tents in the desert so much you built one in your living room?!" Danny challenged.</p><p>Steve scoffed, "No!"</p><p>"Have you been teaching my kids your survival skills again?!" Danny demanded.</p><p>"Okay- those skills are vital Danny, if something were to happen to them I want to be assured that they have a good chance to survive!" Steve argued stubbornly. </p><p>"What have you been doing this week that makes you worry my kids will be in danger?"</p><p>"Nothing! But we weren't doing anything when Grace got kidnapped too, so yeah, sometimes I worry about that!"</p><p>"What did you do with my kids this week Steve?"</p><p>"Um..."</p><p>Steve thought back over the last week to try and think of something they had done that Danny wouldn't yell at him for. He racked his brain. It took longer than it should have in his sleep deprived state. Danny clearly agreed with that sentiment because he folded his arms and scowled. </p><p>"Don't you remember Uncle Steve? We-" Charlie began, happily.</p><p>Grace grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into her legs to cover his mouth with her hand. He protested, but it was enough to distract him. Danny looked unimpressed. </p><p>"What did you do Steve?" He demanded, darkly.</p><p>"We went to the store?" Steve offered.</p><p>Danny's brows rose. "The store? This place looks like a bomb hit it and you’re giving me <em>the store</em>? What happened to ship shape and Bristol fashion or whatever?!"</p><p>Steve just shrugged. That was impossible with kids around he discovered, but it had been worth it. "Eh. Hakuna mattata."</p><p>"Hakuna mattata? Hakuna-" Danny frowned hard, and paused for thought. A look of concern crossed his face. "Steve, babe, did you get smashed round the head while I was gone or something? You running a fever?"</p><p>Danny reached up to touch Steve's forehead. Steve staggered slightly, but stayed upright. The concern on his face was genuine and Steve would have been touched had it lasted longer than a second. Danny's hand slipped away and he folded them across his chest with a scowl.</p><p>"No, you’re fine. Then what the hell's the matter with you?" </p><p>Steve struggled to come up with an answer that didn’t sound insane. His idea of the truth - <em>I</em> <em>was bullied into letting the kids run riot because I'm a pushover for them because I love them</em> - was just embarrassing. The kids idea of the truth, however - <em>we played a lot of games and ate a lot of yummy food (some of which was even healthy) and played in the water a lot and Uncle Steve played with us and kept us feeling safe and welcome and happy as much as he could</em> - could just about save him.</p><p>Charlie had wriggled free and came hurrying out of the kitchen before Grace could stop him. "Leave papa Steve alone Danno, he did his best!"</p><p>Both men looked down at the boy, both with different but equally alarmed looks on their faces, and Grace figured in for a penny in for a pound. </p><p>"He did real good!" She agreed.</p><p>Steve smiled warmly as Grace met his eye. Danny was still processing what Charlie had said though. It must have been jetlag. He must have been hearing things.</p><p>"Thanks kids," Steve said.</p><p>"Have you two got any clothes to change into?" Danny asked.</p><p>They were still in pyjamas after all and Charlie still had jam on the sleeve of his. </p><p>"Um..."</p><p>Grace glanced around. Sheepishly, she peeled one of her shirts off of the pillow fort that they had been using as a roof. Danny pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He had been home less than an hour and he could already feel a headache growing. </p><p>"Start gathering your things. I'll help in a minute, I just have to have a word with-" he paused as he eyed his partner. Uncle usually fit the place holder, but Charlie had definitely called him something else. Something Danny was not about to say. "Steve."</p><p>Grace was hesitant to leave. Steve had backed her up in the head teachers office, she felt a duty to stand by him now. But Steve gave her a wink and a slight nod, so she ushered Charlie away. Once again she was behaving more like a nanny than a sister. <br/>Danny turned on his heels and folded his arms to give Steve a serious look. Steve braced himself, but Danny's tone was far calmer than he anticipated. </p><p>"What happened here?"</p><p>"Um... fun?" Steve offered.</p><p>"Fun? That’s what you’re going with? Fun? Because I have fun with those two every other weekend and not once has it ended looking like this," Danny gestured to the pillow fort. </p><p>"But were you having uncle Steve levels of fun?" Steve challenged. </p><p>Danny rolled his eyes. He was too tired to argue with his partner when he was being goofy. He couldn't stay mad at Steve when he was being endearing and they both knew it.</p><p>"I - I can't deal with that right now, did everything go okay?" Danny asked. </p><p>"Yep. Charlie had a nightmare, Grace won a competition at school, I got buried in sand, we had a great time," Steve grinned.</p><p>"Wish I could have seen that," Danny snorted. "And work?"</p><p>"Lou's ready to give a full update on Monday and to go on vacation on Tuesday," Steve nodded.</p><p>Danny frowned. “You’re kidding me? You signed off on another-"</p><p>"Yes, I'm kidding you. Lighten up Danno. You look exhausted. Want some coffee?"</p><p>"Please."</p><p>They couldn't exactly sit anywhere in the living room so Danny took his usual perch on the side in Steve's kitchen. He cupped his coffee in his hands and wrinkled his nose as he watched Steve drop butter into his. Steve chuckled. Danny looked just like Grace when he pulled that look. Danny moaned in appreciation as he took a long sip from his cup. Then he gestured with it towards the door.</p><p>"Should I help clean up?" He asked. </p><p>"Nah, its really not as messy as it looks... I think... anyway Junior will be home soon and I don't think he could stand to live like this long," Steve shrugged.</p><p>"Well good because I don’t really want to help. I've gotta get these little monsters back to mine so they can make that a mess," Danny said.</p><p>Steve just chuckled along in agreement as he thought about the shattered fruit bowl they had thrown away while he was gone. It wasn’t like he'd notice. Probably. </p><p>"You look tired," Danny said.</p><p>He didn’t even try to hide his smile. The dark circles under Steve's eyes and the way he was leaning against the side because he ached too much to sit on top of it were how Danny felt daily. Worse when Steve was around. It was satisfying to see what damage the kids had done to him in such a short time. </p><p>"It was worth it," Steve said, firmly.</p><p>The dazzling smile that allowed itself to escape was all the lie detector Danny needed. His chest warmed to see it. He was well aware of how lucky he was to have a partner that not only understood the trappings of parenthood, but adored his kids like they were his own too. There was a good number of cops Danny had met that would never fathom putting family first and hated when he did. Steve was not one of them.</p><p>"You hungry? I've got breakfast," he offered.</p><p>Steve was keen to show Danny that he had actually gone shopping like he said he would. That there was food in the house. Enough for the kids and him if he wanted to stay. Because he was welcome to stay. As long as he liked too. But Danny just shook his head.</p><p>"Nah, I'd better finish this and help the kids pack," he said.</p><p>Steve frowned. That was far quicker than he wanted. Danny had been gone all week and now they hadn't even had half an hour together before he was going home.</p><p>"Come on you two, get your bags, get your shoes, get in the car," Danny called.</p><p>As Charlie dragged his bag down the stairs, Steve ducked into the fort again to find his fire truck that had been tucked under the coffee table for extra decorations. Danny helped him back to his feet. Steve desperately wanted him to stay.  </p><p>"You sure you don’t wanna stay for breakfast?" He asked again.</p><p>"I just want to get home and hit the hay. It's been a long week," Danny nodded.</p><p>"I know the feeling. If you wanted to go home and nap and pick them up later-" Steve began.</p><p>"That’s stupid, why would I go home just to come back later?" Danny scoffed. </p><p>"You could stay here if that's easier," Steve muttered.</p><p>Danny shook his head. "Honestly I just wanna sleep in my own bed in my own place, with my kids safe. Hotel's are never great, but that last day I stayed with Ma and my old bed is so uncomfortable now."</p><p>"Right..."</p><p>Steve tapped the fire truck against his palm thoughtfully for a moment. He was running out of things to say that might make Danny stay a little longer. Charlie tugged Steve's arm. He didn’t need to say a word to Steve to know what he wanted. Charlie beamed as he took his truck. He drove it across the roof of their pillow fort, happily making engine noises with his mouth as they went.</p><p>Before Danny could ask if he had packed that, because he didn’t remember doing so, Steve had a brainwave.</p><p>"How did the trial go?"</p><p>Danny blinked as he reset. All week his mind had been on this one trial so he could get back home, satisfied that the world was still safe and put to rights. It took him a moment to figure out how to explain it all to Steve. It could take a while.</p><p>He let out a small sigh of satisfaction as he said, "Good. Really good. I mean, it was looking a little hectic there, for a minute or two I thought things weren't going to go our way, but the judge agreed that a life sentence means a set amount of years not just a lifetime, even if he technically died. Now his zombie ass can stay locked up and the streets are still safe."</p><p>"Awesome, that's great, I'm proud of you," Steve smiled.</p><p>Danny felt his cheeks flush. He thrust his hands into his back pockets and shrugged sheepishly, trying not to smile back.</p><p>"I didn't really do much, I was only on the stand about three times. I've looked that man in the eye too many times in my lifetime, I hope I never see him again."</p><p>"I'm sure you've done it this time. If anyone can get justice served its you Danno," Steve clapped his shoulder affectionately. </p><p>"Thanks," Danny muttered.</p><p>Steve always did this. It annoyed him sometimes. This weird skill that he had. It didn’t matter how irritated or heartbroken or angry Danny was, Steve could say or do something so simple or so easy that calmed him. Made him feel better. If Danny had come home with doubts about his abilities or the justice system in general - which he had - Steve could squash them in two sentences and a pat to the arm.</p><p>On the one hand it was nice to have someone who knew him well enough to understand how to soothe him, but on the other - falling for Steve was far too easy. And if Steve didn't feel the same way that could make it hard to be partners. And he didn’t feel the same way. He was far too macho and had dated far too many tall, beautiful, adventurous women to settle for a short, curmudgeonly handsome man like him. </p><p>Besides, Steve had a habit of jetting off around the world on secret missions on a whim. Danny couldn't always go with him like Catherine would. He had baggage. He had kids. They would always be more important. Even if they dropped their bags at his feet like he was a bell hop and ran off to find their shoes buried under bedding by the front door.</p><p>When he finally got them both ready to go and standing in front of him, Danny set his hands on his hips.</p><p>"Something you two want to say?"</p><p>Saying wasn’t enough for a Williams. Grace threw her arms around his middle first, hugging Steve tightly. Steve's insides melted. She gave magical hugs.</p><p>"Thanks for everything papa Steve," she grinned.</p><p>And everything was a lot. A lot more than Danny would ever know because they would never tell him. She stepped back as Charlie raced over and threw his full weight against Steve's legs to hug them.</p><p>"Love you papa Steve!" He beamed.</p><p>Steve chuckled. He was very, very aware of the look he was now getting from Danny, and refused to meet his eye as he ran his hand across Charlie's head.</p><p>"I love you too kiddo."</p><p>Charlie stepped back, grinning up at him as Danny told them to wait in the car. Grace took both their bags and Charlie carried his fire truck.</p><p>"Bye Papa Steve!" Grace grinned. </p><p>"Bye babe," Steve waved.</p><p>"Aloha Papa Steve!" Charlie waved.</p><p>"Aloha Charlie," Steve smiled back.</p><p>He watched the kids vanish out of the door and trudge over to Danny's camero. Grace had the keys to open the trunk and Charlie climbed right in. It took seconds before they could hear the bickering.<br/>Ignoring his children for a moment, Danny folded his arms again, and raised an eyebrow at Steve. </p><p>"Papa Steve?" He challenged. </p><p>Steve would have made excuses, but he didn't want to. It felt like a title. A rank. One he had achieved like any other in his name. He folded his arms back and stubbornly held Danny's gaze.</p><p>"I earned this."</p><p>Danny chewed the inside of this cheek and glanced out towards the car. Charlie was still on his knees in the trunk and Grace was threatening to close the lid on him. That was his problem. <em>His.</em> Because he was their father. Not Stan, and not Steve. But unlike Stan, who had been gifted his title by Rachel, Steve had earned his. And he looked proud of it. That pleased Danny, but it still didn't feel fully comfortable. </p><p>"I’m not sure I like it," he admitted.</p><p>Steve held firm. "Daniel you once told me that we were a partnership which means nothing in our lives are separated-"</p><p>"I said, no I didn’t, when did - when did I say that, when?" Danny stammered. </p><p>"You said there is no "my own" in a friendship. Your problems become my problems. Our work, our problems, our car, <em>our kids!"</em></p><p>"That... that was a long time ago..."</p><p>"Still holds true."</p><p>Steve finished with a firm nod of stubbornness. He had twisted Danny's words back against him, and he stood by it. Danny's eyes widened as he realised he'd be caught out. His mind ran through the idea of Steve being an extra parent to his kids. It was much like it always had been, except suddenly a chunk of the financial burden had been lifted from him. Then he just snorted.</p><p>"Okay papa bear but this puts you on the hook for fees. School trips, medical bills, university, if you're signing up it's gonna cost you," Danny teased.</p><p>Steve snorted. "Alright big shot don’t temp me, I have a meeting at the courthouse in a few days, it won't take any more effort to sign a third parent form."</p><p>Danny's smile stayed firm as his brow furrowed uncertainly. "You serious?"</p><p>Steve hadn't been. At least he didn’t think he had been. But after a brief consideration of the idea, he found himself being convinced of it.</p><p>"Maybe... why not?" Steve asked.</p><p>Danny’s smile faded. "Because that’s insane? We're not even dating and you wanna adopt my kids?"</p><p>"I'd feel better knowing I had legal access to them if anything happened to you so Rach couldn't take them away from me-" Steve began, defensively. </p><p>"That's- that’s literally insane, you are insane-" Danny argued. </p><p>"I'd like to have proof that you're never gonna leave me either-"</p><p>"You've lost your mind, what's the matter with you?!"</p><p>"But if you’re not going to marry me-"</p><p>"<em>Marry you</em>?!"</p><p>"This is the next best thing."</p><p>Danny's arms fell free to his side as he stared at Steve. Steve still held firm in his posture. The way he said it sounded like he was just stating facts. Like his mind was already made up. Danny felt like he'd just been caught in a miniature tornado that was sent specifically to whirl through him. A week ago this man had been sitting in his underwear playing video games with his roommate and losing. Now they were standing in a mess of a blanket fort discussing marriage. </p><p>It was too much. </p><p>Especially for Danny. </p><p>"You should get some sleep," he said, gently. "I think your brain broke."</p><p>Steve knew that Danny was teasing him, but he ignored it. It felt like for the first time since Catherine left he was thinking clearly. Like he could make a solid decision about his future that didn't have to think about. One that felt right. He didn't want Danny to be the one who stood in his way.</p><p>"Danny, I..." with Danny looking at him like that the words were hard, but they had to be said. He swallowed, but pressed on, "I mean it. I love those kids, I love you, I want you - I want <em>them</em> in my life. Forever."</p><p>Danny looked blindsided. He shook his head and said, quietly, "I’m not going anywhere."</p><p>"Neither was Kono. Neither was Chin. They’re both gone. If Rachel leaves with Stan and takes the kids-" Steve began.</p><p>Danny cut him off firmly, "She’s not allowed to, legally I have rights-"</p><p>"Legally <em>you</em> have rights," Steve countered, "I don't. You'd follow them. I'd lose all of you... I don't want you to go, any of you, because I..."</p><p>Steve swallowed back the words. His heart was thumping again and his palms were sweaty. It was crazy. The words rolled straight off his tongue most days. He threw them to Danny, knowing they would come back just as easily. But with those big blue eyes staring at him like he was losing his mind, like Danny was deeply concerned about him, they were a defence. An explanation. </p><p>He sounded crazy because he was being crazy.</p><p>Because love makes you crazy. </p><p>Steve's head tilted down towards his chest as he pulled his eyes away from him. It was now or never and he was still terrified. </p><p>"I love you Danny..."</p><p>Danny's eyes widened as his world went spinning again. He didn’t even hear the thunk outside as the car trunk slammed shut. His focus was entirely on Steve and the way his heart was now beating out a samba.</p><p>"I don't want to live without you..." Steve murmured. </p><p>He stared at the ground. He couldn't bring himself to look up. Danny had only ever shown interest in women. Tall beautiful women, usually brunette, usually with blue eyes. Steve couldn't see a way he could fit that description. </p><p>And all Danny could see was a complete idiot in front of him.</p><p>"<em>Then just say that you Neanderthal!</em>" He cried. "We can try dating when you say that! Why do you have to jump straight to marriage?! I don't want to marry anyone, but I'll date you if you ask!"</p><p>Steve's head flicked up as his jaw dropped and he stared at Danny. "You- wait, you're willing to try dating? Dating <em>me?!"</em></p><p>"No shit Sherlock. I’ve been dropping hints for ages, I thought you were supposed to be good detective?" Danny snorted.</p><p>Steve blinked, bewildered, "Uh... I thought so too..."</p><p>"You’re so lucky you're hot or people would notice you’re useless," Danny snorted again.</p><p>"I..."</p><p>Steve was lost. His mind was spinning. A week ago he had a roommate with a new game console and his best friend complaining behind him. Now it looked like he had two children and a boyfriend to love. </p><p>A wonderful development, if a sudden one.</p><p>Danny chuckled at the look of astoundment on Steve's face. It had been on his own moments earlier. Steve always looked cutely vulnerable when he was lost. It wasn't something that happened often.</p><p>A car horn honked outside and Grace yelled, "COME ON DANNO!"</p><p>Danny swore. He had had to chase them out of the house and now they demanded he leave instantly. Now that things mattered here. But he couldn’t leave them alone in the car for much longer.</p><p>"Coffee. Tomorrow morning. I'll call you," he said, firmly.</p><p>"O...kay... yeah," Steve said, slowly sinking back into life. "Coffee. We have a lot to catch up on."</p><p>"I'll say," Danny snorted.</p><p>Steve just smirked back. Danny licked his lips and clenched his fist nervously. He ducked forward, laid a hand on Steve's arm, and went on his toes to plant a kiss on Steve's cheek. And immediately blushed. </p><p>He felt stupid. He felt like a teenager facing a girl he liked for the first time again. Going on his toes to reach his cheek wasn't the most masculine thing to do either, but he had chickened out of going for his mouth.</p><p>It was only when he stepped back and saw the slack jaw on his partners face that Danny felt better. He snorted. Steve looked like he'd fully stopped functioning now. It was cute. Stupid, but cute. </p><p>"I'll call you tomorrow," Danny muttered.</p><p>Steve sputtered back into life as Danny reached the door, but all the noises he made were nonsensical. It only made Danny's smile wider. </p><p>"Oh, and Steve?" He said, pausing while halfway out the door. </p><p>"Yeah?" Steve asked. He still looked like a blank slate trying to process what had happened. </p><p>"Never call me Daniel again," Danny warned.</p><p>Steve's smile grew into that megawatt beam of his as he lit up the room around them. "You got it Danno."</p><p>Danny snorted and nodded. He should have expected that. "Bye, papa bear."</p><p>The door was shut before Steve manage to mutter out, "Bye."</p><p>Even though the door was shut and Danny was heading back towards the car like he was floating on air, his voice rang out loud and clear through the house.</p><p>"Get your brother out of the trunk of the car Al Pacino, and get in the back seat where it's safe!"</p><p>Steve snorted and burst into a fit of baffled laughter. Much like his house, his mind had become a swirling mess. It was difficult to take it all it. But then he spotted something that had been left behind in Grace's room.</p><p><em>He</em> <em>forgot his hair dryer. Oh well I'll give it back to him tomorrow. At coffee</em>. </p><p>It clicked in then, and Steve beamed. He had a date tomorrow. With the man he loved more than anyone in the world. Which was the first step to him moving in and the kids being over almost full time. Because they loved him. And he loved them. Which he had proved over the course of a very hectic week. One that had left him exhausted and baffled and utterly excited.</p><p>Yeah. Steve nailed it.</p>
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